Hidden Strength 4: The Final Battle
by srdaire
Summary: With Siren winning this war, and with Aralyne's emotions running high, there doesn't seem to be any way to stop the villains from ruling the world. Will Aralyne be able to control herself in time to prevent total chaos? I do not own anything except the characters Aralyne, Siren, Alyss, and Catherine.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

 _(Song in this chapter is "No Way Out" by Phil Collins.)_

 _"Everywhere I turn I hurt someone_

 _But there's nothing I can say to change the things I've done_

 _Of all the things I hid from you I cannot hide the shame_

 _And I pray someone, something will come and take away the pain_

 _There's no way out of this dark place_

 _No hope, no future_

 _I know I can't be free_

 _But I can't see another way_

 _And I can't face another day_

 _Tell me where did I go wrong_

 _Everyone I love, they're all gone_

 _I'd do everything so differently_

 _But I can't turn back the time_

 _There's no shelter from the storm inside of me_

 _There's no way out of this dark place_

 _No hope, no future_

 _I know I can't be free_

 _But I can't see another way_

 _And I can't face another day_

 _Can't believe the words I hear_

 _It's like an answer to a prayer_

 _And when I look around I see,_

 _This place, this time, this friend of mine_

 _I know It's hard but you found somehow_

 _To look into your heart and to forgive me now_

 _You've given me the strength to see just where my journey ends_

 _You've given me the strength to carry on_

 _I see the path from this dark place_

 _I see my future_

 _And your forgiveness has set me free_

 _Oh, and I can see another way_

 _I can face another day_

 _(I see the path)_

 _I can see the path_

 _(I see the future)_

 _I see the path from this dark place_

 _I see my future_

 _(I see the path)_

 _I can see the path_

 _I see the future_

 _I see the path"_

Siren went on down to the dungeons, following the piercing screams that echoed around the castle. Ah, the delicious wails of someone being tortured! How she loved it! Opening up one door in the dungeon, she found Tulio standing over a girl with black hair and blue eyes. The girl was strapped down to the ground covered in long, deep scratches, each of them oozing blood. She writhed in pain, screaming and sobbing. Each time the girl shifted a bit, Siren could see some bamboo growing beneath her.

 _Fast growing bamboo. Within three days it'll be half way through the girl_ , Siren thought in glee. She grinned maliciously when Tulio poured rat poison over the girl's wounds. The screams raised it pitch.

"Tulio," said Siren stepping into the room. He stopped pouring the rat poison on the girl and turned towards the villainess, gazing upon her with dead eyes. "Who is this girl, and what has she done to deserve this?"

"Her name is Helene," Tulio replied, "and I found her nosing around the castle. She thought herself too smart and important to get caught. She was wrong."

Siren chuckled. "Well, I guess some people need to learn to stay out of affairs that don't concern them." She moved closer and circled him. He continued to watch her with no emotion. "Tulio, I do believe you are ready! Nice... very nice. You have the same blackness in your soul that I have. What is your destiny?"

"I will destroy Incantationen," he said.

"Yes! What have I taught you?" Siren inquired.

"Aralyne is the enemy," Tulio replied.

"And what must you do?" the villainess demanded.

"I must _kill_ her!" Tulio snarled.

* * *

I was out in a grassy meadow not far from Nesidy with Lao Shi beside me. We were sitting cross-legged underneath the light of a full moon.

"Release yourself, young one... Concentrate," said Grandpa. He was supposed to be helping me find peace. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to focus. "Sense the vibrations around you. Let your instincts guide you..."

A light breeze whipped through my hair. It was now past my shoulders, falling a bit over my chest; still not as long as when it had been cut. For a moment I felt at peace.

"Sense the balance of the magical world. Good and evil both," Grandpa instructed.

"I... I can feel it," I said, "Yeah. It's kinda cool, actually." I suddenly sensed a shadow pass over my face, and I opened my eyes to find that Grandpa had vanished and a dark cloud was passing over the moon. A dark figure popped up from a bush, and the silhouette seemed familiar. "Huh?" I jumped to my feet and chased after him, as he was clearly male. He ran deeper and deeper into the surrounding woods, before suddenly stopping at the base of a mountain. I slowed down and stared at him, my heart skipping a beat. "Tulio..."

"Aralyne, listen to me," he said, completely serious. I came to a halt just a mere foot away from him. This couldn't be real. He was _here!_ "Siren is planning something big. Something terrible. You have to stop her."

"But what about you?" I inquired.

"You can't save me, Aralyne. And don't even try. It's too dangerous," he replied. As he turned to leave, I reached out and wrapped my arms around him.

"I don't care. You're worth it," I muttered into his chest. With his right hand, he lifted up head so I gazed up at him. He leaned in...

And I opened my eyes to find myself in the bedroom I shared with Catherine and Alyss at the Benbow Inn. Early morning sunshine was streaming through the window and the sisters were still fast asleep. _It was just a dream!_

Angry, I crawled out of bed and changed from my nightgown into a tight white tank top, torn olive green shorts, and knee-high brown boots. After tying my medium-length hair back into a braid, I grabbed my bow, arrows, and knife before leaving the room.

Bypassing the dining area, I could sense Sarah and Jim Hawkins watching me.

"Aralyne, would you like some breakfast?" Mrs. Hawkins tentatively asked.

"I'm not hungry," I said a little harsher than I meant to. Honestly, I felt bad for snapping at her. She wasn't the reason I was angry, but I couldn't stay around either. Anyone was likely to fall under my wrath while I was like this, so I had to be completely alone. I left the Benbow Inn altogether and headed out of Nesidy towards the woods. After a few minutes of walking, I came to my practice area where I had set up a piece of plywood with a painting of Siren on it. The plywood was already riddled with holes on her chest and head. I set to work firing arrows at the cut out of my enemy.

* * *

"Yo, Gramps, what's up? You said you wanted to see me?" said Jake Long walking into his grandfather's office.

"Yes, come in, Jake," said Grandpa motioning for the teenager to enter. "I have been worried about Aralyne."

"What for? She can take care of herself," said Jake sitting at a chair and placing his feet on Grandpa's desk.

Lao Shi frowned and shoved Jake's feet off the furniture. "That is not what I meant. She had finally agreed to her job as Queen of Incantationen, but she has not been performing her duties. Instead she has let her anger and hatred for Siren consume her. I want you to go and keep an eye out on her. Make sure she doesn't do anything dangerous to herself or others."

"You got it, Gramps," said Jake getting up off his seat, "Dragon up!" He turned into his dragon form and flew out the window, heading for the Benbow Inn. When he got there, he turned back into a human and went inside, running into Alyss and Catherine on their way downstairs.

"How's it goin', ladies? You're both lookin' fine today," he said with a wink.

"Forget it, Jake," said Alyss, rolling her eyes, "We're not interested."

"Yeah, you're like fourteen," Catherine agreed.

"Fine, but you're gonna miss out on all this! Check it!" He started break dancing in front of them, but wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and crashed into a table, knocking it over. "Oops! My bad!"

"Okay, I know you're not here to destroy things. What do you want, Jake?" said Alyss picking up the table and setting it right.

"I was looking for Aralyne," he confessed, "Is she out of bed, yet?"

"Out of bed, and out of the building," Catherine replied, "She was gone before we were even awake."

"Aw man! Do you know where I can find her?" Jake inquired.

"Probably out in the woods, but you should leave her alone," said Alyss.

"I can't. Gramps said I have to watch over her," said Jake.

The sisters exchanged glances then said simultaneously, "We're going with you."

* * *

I don't know how long I was practicing, but I didn't really care either. All I knew was that if I ever came face to face with Siren, I was going to make her pay.

Sweat now pouring down my face, I pulled out my knife, and aimed for the Siren painting. Hearing something behind me, I spun around and let my weapon fly.

"Hey, watch it!" Jake Long the dragon exclaimed when my knife became embedded in a tree trunk half an inch away from him. "You could have damaged my beautiful face." With him was Catherine and Alyss.

"What do you want?" I growled out at them.

"We wanted to know if you were okay," said Catherine.

"Fine," I snapped out moving forward to yank my knife out of the tree. "Now leave me alone."

"You're a lot bitchier than normal," Alyss said, "Something made you upset."

I came to a halt and stared at the ground, tears stinging my eyes. Lifting up my gaze, it landed on the painting of Siren. With a cry of rage, I threw my knife and it landed between her eyes.

"Tell us what happened, duck," said Catherine, coming over to wrap an arm my shoulders.

I told them about my dream, and by then Jake had transformed into his human self.

"So let me get this straight," said Jake, "you're in a rotten mood because of some dream?"

"I think it was more than a dream," I said wiping my eyes dry, "I think... I think Tulio was trying to contact me from wherever he is." Catherine offered me a sympathetic look.

"Well, there are spells you can use to enter people's dreams," Alyss piped up, "I use 'em all the time to, uh..." She blushed. "Never mind."

Catherine gave her sister a curious look. "Who's dreams have you been visiting?"

"No one's," Alyss muttered.

"Is it Milo?" Catherine persisted.

"No. Yes. I don't know. Maybe. Stop putting me on the spot! We're here for Aralyne!" Alyss cried, now very red.

What Alyss had said did grab my attention. Not about Milo, but the spell, and I nodded. "That's gotta be it! Maybe I can use the same kinda spell to enter his dreams and find out what's going on!"

"You really miss him, don't you?" Catherine asked, tilting her head.

I nodded, sadly. "It's been three months. I thought I'd be over him by now, but I'm not. I just... I need to know he's okay."

Alyss hesitated, then pulled a magical spell book out of her dress pocket and opened it. "If you're serious about finding him, I think I know a spell that'll do it."

"Really?" I asked. For the first time in months, I felt hope spring up inside of me. I threw my arms around Alyss. "You're the best!"

"So what are we talkin' here?" Jake inquired.

After I had released her, Alyss flipped the book open and said, "A portal spell. It's pretty tricky, but if done right, it'll open a dimensional door to wherever Tulio is."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked, eagerly.

Alyss shut the book and gave me a worried look. "One problem. I'm missing a key ingredient. Krylock venom."

"Kry-a-what-now?" said Jake in confusion. I was with him on this.

"Krylock," Catherine explained, "A beast of pure evil that feeds off of magical creatures. It has the head of a cobra, the wings of a bat, and the body and tail of a scorpion."

"Okay, so let's go find this Krything already!" I said gathering my arrows from the Siren painting.

"That's the hitch. It's inter-dimensional," said Catherine.

"Meaning...?" Jake asked.

Alyss then said, "Meaning it lives in another dimension. The only way it can enter our world is through a dimensional door, which can pop up anywhere anytime anyplace. It's impossible to track."

I felt my spirits sink. "So what do we do?"

"We wait for it make an appearance in our neck of the woods. When it does, that's when we strike," Alyss declared.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _(Brief lyrics in this chapter are from the song "True Love" by Dove Cameron.)_

Catherine and Alyss decided to humour me and took me to the library with Jake so we could do research on the Krylock. I was determined to find this monster so that I could get into contact with Tulio.

"Uh, Aralyne?" said Jake as he flipped through a book, completely bored. The sisters looked up from an Atlas they had been studying. "If we were told to wait, how come we're here at the library trying to find this Kry... beast... thingie?"

"The sooner we find it, the sooner I find Tulio," I replied simply, getting back to the book in my hand.

"Aralyne, we all know how much you dig Tulio and all, but he disappeared months ago. Maybe it's time for you to start movin' on with your life," Jake suggested.

My head shot up and I glared at him. " _Move on?_ How can you say that after everything I've been through?"

He put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, Aralyne, but since he left, life's been passing you by." I continued to glare at him.

"Ooookay," said Catherine looking between me and Jake, "I have an idea. While we wait for the Krylock to show up, why don't we go back to the Benbow Inn and make cupcakes?"

"Ooh! Yeah! I'm starving!" Alyss agreed shutting the atlas.

"Fine," I grumbled, also closing my book. We returned all of the texts back to their shelves and left the library, Alyss waving flirtatiously at Milo Thatch.

When we got back to the inn, it was already past the lunch hour so we had the kitchen to ourselves.

"We should make several dozen cupcakes, and then sell them!" Alyss exclaimed, "That way we get food and money!"

"Yeah! Good idea!" Catherine eagerly agreed.

Right as we got all of the ingredients out for the cupcakes, Jim rushed in looking frantic. "The Krylock is loose in the town!"

I couldn't believe my luck! "Let's go!" I shouted running out of the kitchen, Jake right behind me.

"But, cupcakes," Alyss sadly said.

We rushed out of the Benbow Inn, and followed the sound of people screaming. It wasn't long until we found the giant krylock standing in front of its dimensional portal, people running for their lives. The krylock let out a monstrous roar.

"I've got a canister for the venom," said Catherine pulling one out of her pocket, "I grabbed it before we left the inn."

"Remember, this may be my only chance to find Tulio," I said looking around at all my friends.

They all nodded and Jake shouted, "Dragon up!" He turned into his dragon form. In an amazing maneuver, he leaped, kicked and spun towards the beast, until he was hovering right in front of it. The demon hissed and roared viciously.

"Sorry, Krylock! You got a little something I want!" I cried getting my bow and arrows ready. Too bad I didn't get a chance to grab Excalibur before leaving the inn.

As the Krylock swatted at us with its tail, we all jumped, dodged, and - in Jake's case - flew under its legs. The dragon turned to us, wearing a cocky expression.

"Yo, this Krylock's cake! I'll have it defeated in no -"

"Jake! Krylock comin' up on your rear!" Catherine shouted, but it was too late.

The Krylock used its tail to pick up Jake from behind and repeatedly slammed him into the ground. Jake was then flung through the air and crashed to the ground. Before the creature could hurt my young friend any more, Catherine stood between them. The Krylock charged for them, fangs exposed.

I shot arrows at the Krylock, but they bounced off him as if they were made of feathers. "Dammit!"

"Aralyne!" I turned towards Alyss who had managed to get hold of some rope. She threw one end to me and together we rushed forward on either side of the beast. We yanked on the rope simultaneously and tripped the Krylock, sending it plummeting to the ground on top of Jake and Catherine.

For a horrifying moment, I thought we killed them, but in one quick movement, Catherine whipped out the canister. Jake's tail pressed the canister against the tip of the Krylock's stinger, drawing venom out of it. The Krylock screeched angrily.

Jake grabbed hold of Catherine by the waist and dove out of the way from danger. The dragon smirked and said, "Hey, Krylock. Looks like your ride's leaving." The Krylock then scurried off back into the portal just as it closed and completely vanished.

Catherine smiled victoriously, holding up the canister of venom. "Got it, guys! Let's go open us up a portal!"

"And make some cupcakes! I'm hungry!" Alyss added.

Jake turned back into a human and we rushed back to the Benbow Inn's kitchen. Jake helped set up the ingredients for the portal (he had stopped by Grandpa's house on the way. Apparently Lao Shi didn't know what we were up to, and that was a good thing), while the sisters were making cupcakes.

"Dude, we're still missing a key ingredient!" Alyss exclaimed in a panic. Catherine was pouring cupcake ingredients into a power mixer, while consulting a cookbook. "Cupcakes can't bake without baking soda!"

"The baking soda's in your hand," Catherine said calmly not looking up from the book. Alyss saw she was right and grinned sheepishly.

Jake and I were at our own station beside them, me pouring the ingredients into a mortar while he was reading the spell book.

"Uh, can you guys keep it down a little? We're working on a portal spell over here," I said looking at the ingredients with disgust. The sisters stuck their tongues out at me.

"Gimme some bat guano," said Jake and I gagged as I tossed the guano into the mortar. _Why do spell ingredients have to be so disgusting?_

"Alyss, Cocoa powder," said Catherine. Alyss poured the cocoa powder into the mixer.

"Troll belches," said Jake. At least this one wasn't so gross.

"Heavy whipping cream," said Catherine.

"Krylock venom," Jake said at the same time Catherine called out, "Vanilla."

I grabbed a canister without really looking at it and poured it into the mortar before pounding the ingredients with a pestle.

"And presto! One portal potion, ready for action!" Jake declared, picking up the mortar and handing it to me.

"And one batch of cupcakes, ready for baking!" Catherine crowed pouring the batter into a cupcake tray. She stuck it in the oven.

"Okay, just pour the potion on the floor and say Tulio's name," Jake instructed, "When the portal opens, dive in. The next thing you know, it'll be you and him getting it on!"

I blushed at his implication. "Well... I guess this is it." I poured the potion onto the floor, creating a purple puddle hovering in midair. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Tulio." I jumped forward... and found myself still inside the kitchen of the Benbow Inn. My heart pounding, I turned to see the purple concoction vanish. _It didn't work!_

My heart got lodged in my throat. Tears started pouring from my eyes and I ran out of the kitchen, sobbing.

"Aralyne, wait!"

I ran up stairs to my room and threw myself upon the bed, crying into my pillow.

 _"If I could do it all over, baby I'd do it different_

 _Maybe I wouldn't be here, in this position_

 _I found you and I lost you, looking back is torture_

 _And it hurts to know I let you go, you live right around the corner_

 _And I could've had it all, could've had it all_

 _True love, I know I had it_

 _True love, was so hard to find_

 _True love, If I could get it back, yeah_

 _I'd never let it go this time_

 _True love, is an inspiration_

 _True love, it was mine oh mine_

 _True love, If I could get it back, yeah_

 _Never let it go, I'd never let it go this time"_

Eventually I stopped crying, and instead stared at the wall in despair. Catherine, Alyss, and Jake came into the room.

"Look, Aralyne. We're sorry the spell didn't work, but we're not gonna let you waste away a whole day in bed," said Alyss.

"Go away," I muttered.

Catherine frowned, and stormed over, grabbing me by my shoulders. "Get a grip! Like it or not, life goes on! Now snap out of it, and march your patootie downstairs, 'cause we got cupcakes to sell!"

I was startled by her attitude, and got out of bed. We went back down to the kitchens where all of the cupcakes they made were in pink boxes.

"I just don't get what went wrong," I said looking at the empty mortar where I had left it on the counter, "We had all the ingredients, I said Tulio's name..."

"How 'bout we forget about what went wrong, and focus on what went right. Behold, the cupcakes!" Alyss exclaimed opening a box and showing me the finished product.

The four of us grabbed boxes and left the Benbow Inn to go around Nesidy selling cupcakes.

A couple came over and gave me some money, and I passed over some of the cakes.

"Thanks, and enjoy the cupcakes. But don't just enjoy the cupcakes, enjoy each other. 'Cause you never know when you're gonna be ripped apart by the hands of fate, never to see each other again," I said looking them straight in the eye. They gave me a frightened look and ran off. Catherine and Alyss shook their heads at me.

* * *

Grandpa had gone over to the Benbow Inn to check and make sure Jake was doing his job. After being directed to the kitchen, he looked about at the mess on the counters. On one side were leftover cupcake ingredients, and on the other were magical ingredients.

"A portal spell?" he said figuring out what the magical ingredients were for. As he got a closer look, he saw the canister of vanilla near the magical mess, and a canister of krylock venom with the cupcake ingredients. Lao Shi quickly realized what was going on, and yelled in Chinese.

* * *

Catherine and Alyss had left Jake and Aralyne to sell cupcakes somewhere else.

"Cupcakes! Get your delicious homemade cupcakes right here!" Alyss shouted out, then whispered to her sister, "We _are_ going to have some for ourselves, right?"

"Yes," said Catherine giving a cupcake to a little girl, "Aralyne saved a few for the four of us."

The little girl eagerly ate the cupcake and when she was through, she suddenly transformed into a mutant that sort of resembled the krylock. She gave off a beastly roar.

"Oh. My. Gosh," said Catherine horrified.

"We need to get back to Aralyne," said Alyss. The sisters dropped their boxes and took off running.

* * *

With a depressed sigh, I sat down on a wall and Jake joined me. I took a cupcake from my own box and took a bite. Before I could properly eat it, Grandpa, in his dragon form, appeared out of nowhere, knocking me off the wall.

"Don't eat the cupcakes!" he yelled. I spat it out and gazed up at him in confusion. "They are spiked with Krylock venom which should never be consumed!"

"What? Why? What'll happen?" I demanded, sitting up.

At that moment, Catherine and Alyss came running up to us. Reaching our side, they panted and pointed behind them.

"Aralyne, we got problems!" said Jake.

I finally turned to see that everyone we had sold cupcakes to turned to kyrlock mutants. They were causing chaos all over the place.

One of the mutants lunged at us, and we all dove out of the way.

Grandpa threw me Excalibur. "I thought you might need this."

"Thanks," I said, catching it by the hilt.

Jake did a somersault in the air, turning into his dragon form, and landed on the ground, facing the mutants. "C'mon, ya'll. Bring it!"

"Jake, you are not to harm the mutants!" Grandpa ordered and we all gave him surprised looks. _Um, then why did you give me my sword?_ "We need to revert them back to their original forms."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" I asked.

"Krylock venom gets its power from the Krylock it came from," Alyss quickly explained, "So if you destroy the Krylock, everybody goes back to normal."

"But Alyss, you said it yourself - Krylocks are impossible to find," I pointed out.

Grandpa pulled out a baggy with what was left of the failed portal potion we made. "Not with a portal spell they're not," he said, handing it to me, " All we're missing is the venom..."

"Which is in the cupcakes!" Jake and I shouted.

"But... we were supposed to use the potion to find Tulio!" I said quietly staring at the baggy.

"I am sorry, Aralyne. We have no choice," Grandpa said.

I bit my lip, knowing what I had to do, and nodded. "You're right. Let's get those cupcakes."

As Jake and Grandpa were immediately attacked by mutants, the girls and I ran to the box of cupcakes I had dropped when Grandpa knocked me over. I grabbed a cake and turned back towards the fighting. I needed the baggy!

Grandpa knew what I was thinking and tossed it to Catherine, who threw it to me. I dropped the cupcake into the baggy and smashed it all together. When I tossed the contents out of the bag, a portal materialized before me.

"Show me the Krylock demon," I said. The portal widened and inside I could see the Krylock rampaging around a fiery pit. Just then, another portal opened up side the first, and I gasped. Sitting in a room reading a book was Tulio.

 _(And for those of you that say you hate my story and refuse to read it, STOP READING IT! I know you're just too damn nosy to stay away!)_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 _(Song in this chapter is "Frozen Heart" from the movie Frozen.)_

"W-what's happening?" I stammered staring at the second portal.

"Well, your voice is saying _Krylock_ but I'm guessing your heart is saying something else," Catherine quietly said.

Moving forward, I touched the second portal with my fingertips. "Tulio."

He suddenly looked up through the portal window at me. "Aralyne," he said, but when I gazed into his eyes... they seemed pretty dead.

Hearing a distant scream, I looked over my shoulder to see various mutants chasing frightened Nesidy citizens. I looked back at Tulio and stared at him a moment longer before pulling my hand back. "I'm sorry," I whispered before diving headfirst into the krylock's portal.

This new dimension was a hellish place with volcanic lava spewing everywhere. I faced the krylock with Excalibur raised. I leaped at the creature, swinging my sword at it. The damn thing kept dodging! It finally pounced on me, pinning me to the ground, and knocking Excalibur from my grasp.

"No!" I grunted out, stretching for it, but it was just out of reach.

"Aralyne, hurry! The portal's closing!" Alyss shouted out. The Krylock's stinger inched closer to my chest. Right as it was about to impale me, I finally grasped the sword's hilt and drove it into the krylock's stomach. It screeched in pain and exploded into dust. Jumping to my feet, I dove out of the portal right as it sealed itself shut. Looking around I saw every single mutant transform back into their original forms, and I sighed in relief. The dragons and the sisters surrounded me.

"Well done, young one," said Grandpa as he and Jake turned human, "Now about that portal spell..."

I hung my head with guilt. "I'm sorry, Grandpa. This was all my fault. I was just so obsessed with finding Tulio..."

Grandpa nodded sympathetically. "I understand. The heart wants what it wants. But what matters is - in the end, you didn't do what you wanted, you did what was right, and that is what a _true_ Queen does."

"Yeah. Right," I said turning and walking away. For some odd reason, when I was upset, my feet either took me to the forest or to the beach. This time, it was the beach. I set down Excalibur and sat in the sand, hugging my knees. I was there for a while when Catherine and Alyss arrived, each taking a seat on either side of me.

"Crazy day, huh?" said Alyss.

I didn't say anything.

"You know, you really impressed me back there," said Catherine, "You could have chucked everything to be with him, but you didn't."

I shrugged and said, "I've been obsessing over Tulio for too long now. It's just... it's time for me to let him go."

"Is that what your heart tells you?" Alyss inquired.

I thought about it and shook my head. "No. Not really."

"Then keep looking for him. Just... don't let it take over your life," Catherine said.

I smiled warmly at them. "Thanks, guys. For the potion. For everything."

"We're your friends. It's what we do," said Alyss.

* * *

For the past three months Siren had been collecting as much information as possible on Aralyne, especially from Tulio. One of the things he mentioned that caught her interest was the fact that another man was in love with the little goody-goody. Someone else actually cared for Aralyne, and Siren just couldn't have that.

No. She decided to take a little trip to the kingdom of the Southern Isles to pay this prince a visit. For a while, she remained in the shadows watching Prince Hans, and was particularly interested in the abuse he suffered from his older brothers and parents.

When night had fallen, Hans was in his bedroom staring up at the moon in the sky, looking hurt and dejected.

With an evil smile, Siren blew out the flames in the fireplace, making the room completely dark except for the shaft of moonlight Hans stood in.

"What?" said Hans in surprise, turning away from the window. He couldn't see a thing.

"Don't be afraid," she said remaining in the shadows.

"Who's there?" Hans demanded.

"A friend," said the villainess, stepping into the shaft of moonlight.

Hans gaped at her. " _Aralyne?_ "

"No," she said, "My name is Siren. I'm Aralyne's other half. A more powerful half." He remained silent, but stared at her. "I have been watching you, especially when you're near your family." Hans scowled. "They don't see how special you really are. But, I do." She sashayed up to him and placed a hand on his chest. "I can see your true potential, Hans. I want you. I want you to work with me." _For me, is more like_.

"What do you want?" he said a bit nervously.

"What if I told you that I can help you achieve greatness? That you will be better than your brothers? You could rule the Southern Isles with an iron fist. All you would have to do is help me become the Queen of this world."

"And why would I do that?" Hans demanded, "Aralyne is the rightful Queen of Incantationen!"

It took all of Siren's willpower not to slap him. Instead, she gave me a knowing smile and said, "A bonus for helping me is you can _keep_ Aralyne to yourself."

A hint of greed flashed in his green eyes. "It's a deal."

* * *

As Grandpa had said to me when I accepted the job as Queen of Incantationen, the whole world was my responsibility, including everyone and everything living in it. A part of my duty was making sure that everything within my kingdom remained at peace. Of course, checking up on the whole world was a bit out of my league right now, so I decided to start with just Nesidy and the area around it.

I had gone on night patrol with Excalibur in hand. I told Catherine and Alyss to stay at the inn and not wait for me. Thankfully, they listened, and I was now out on my own. Everything within town was fine, so I made it out of Nesidy and patrolled the surrounding forests. At first I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then I saw a male figure clad entirely in black armor, including wearing a helmet so that I couldn't see his face. He had a bow and arrow in hand, and was aiming for a pack of unicorns drinking from a pond.

"Now, tell me, what did these poor creatures ever do to you?" I inquired sneaking up on the Black Knight and slicing his bow in half with my sword. The unicorns heard the commotion and took off running. He turned to me with a growl, and all I could see were a pair of cold blue eyes from deep within the helmet.

"You shouldn't have done that," he snarled dropping his archery equipment and raising his fists. I knew I had a job to do and kicking this guy's butt was part of it, but I did believe in a fair fight. I put away my sword and stood there waiting for his attack. The Black Knight kicked out at me, but I jumped back. When I threw a punch, he dodged out of the way. His fist went for my head, but I ducked, grabbed his arm, elbowed him in the gut (not the brightest move. I had forgotten he was wearing armor), jumped behind him and twisted his arm behind his back. Strange. It was almost like this man wasn't even trying to hurt me. With his free arm, the Black Knight reached behind him and snatched Excalibur from its sheath before twisting from my grip and pointing the sword at me.

I warily took a step back. _Nice move, Aralyne!_ Before I could do anything, however, a green light appeared and struck the Black Knight's hand. He dropped Excalibur with a cry of pain, and we both turned to see Danny Phantom heading our way, his fists glowing. My opponent swore before turning to flee.

"Aralyne, are you okay?" Danny inquired landing beside me.

"Fine," I replied picking up my sword, "Thanks for the save. What are you doing out here, anyway?"

"Same as you," said Danny with a shrug, "I'm on night patrol. So who was that guy, anyway?"

"I don't know," I admitted, "I just hope he doesn't cause too much trouble. I have enough to deal with as it is."

"Come on. I'll take you back to the inn," said Danny taking my hand. He flew us out of the forest.

* * *

The Black Knight didn't go very far. Once he was sure he was out of sight, he stopped and watched Aralyne and Danny leave. He was annoyed the girl had interfered with his job. He was supposed to collect unicorn horns. Why? He didn't know. He was just to do as he was told, no questions asked. Well, it looked like he would have to try again later and make sure the Savior didn't get involved again.

* * *

The next morning, I was down in the dining area eating porridge for breakfast with the sisters when Grandpa arrived.

"Are you ready to perfrom another duty, young one?" he asked stopping at our table.

My mouth was open, ready for another bite, but I lowered my spoon. "Another one?" I asked, blinking up at him.

Lao Shi nodded and said, "One of your jobs is to make sure each kingdom and country has a fit ruler. This afternoon you will be going on a journey to the kingdom of Arendelle and will arrive in time for the coronation of Queen Elsa. You must make sure she is a right choice for Arendelle to prosper."

I sighed. "Yes, sir."

"Do not despair, Aralyne. You will not be the only one going. Rapunzel will be attending the coronation as she is Elsa's cousin, and I know of some others that are wishing to go," said Grandpa before turning to leave. "Good luck."

"Oooh! Arendelle! How exciting!" Catherine exclaimed, "Come on! We have to pack!" She grabbed my arm and Alyss's and hauled us both upstairs so that we could get ready to leave.

Within a couple of hours, we had our bags packed and headed on down to the docks. There we met up with Timon, Pumbaa, Merida, Aurora, Eilonwy, Irenie, Anne-Marie, Aladdin, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Danny Phantom, and Sam Manson.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Rapunzel gushed, her hair still brown and short, "I haven't seen my cousins in years!"

We all climbed onto Captain Amelia's boat, manned by her usual crew (except for those that died, of course) and took off for Arendelle. There was no way trouble would pop up over there, right?

 _"Born of cold and winter air_

 _And mountain rain combining_

 _This icy force both foul and fair_

 _Has a frozen heart worth mining_

 _So cut through the heart, cold and clear_

 _Strike for love and strike for fear_

 _See the beauty sharp and sheer_

 _Split the ice apart_

 _And break the frozen heart_

 _Hup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!_

 _Hup! Ho! Watch your step! Let it go!_

 _Beautiful! Powerful! Dangerous! Cold!_

 _Ice has a magic can't be controlled._

 _Stronger than one, stronger than ten_

 _Stronger than a hundred men!_

 _Born of cold and winter air_

 _And mountain rain combining_

 _This icy force both foul and fair_

 _Has a frozen heart worth mining_

 _Cut through the heart, cold and clear_

 _Strike for love and strike for fear_

 _There's beauty and there's danger here._

 _Split the ice apart!_

 _Beware the frozen heart."_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 _(Lyrics in this chapter are from the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - with a couple of alterations - from the movie The Lion King.)_

We had only been at sea for a week before arriving in Arendelle's fjords. It was dawn by the time we got there on the actual Coronation Day. We weren't the only ones to just arrive either, as many ships were docking and guests were piling out.

"Welcome to Arendelle!" exclaimed the dock manager.

The lot of us followed Rapunzel off the ship and staring at everything around us. Some distance off, a boy was trying to pull away from his mother who was attempting to stuff him into a jacket.

"Why do I have to wear this?" the boy complained.

"Because the Queen has come of age. It's Coronation Day!" his mother replied in excitement.

"That's not my fault," the boy muttered and I laughed. Kids.

I turned my attention to a large man with blonde hair talking to a reindeer. The animal was hopping around excitedly like a dog and nuzzled the man's chest.

"What do you want, Sven?" the man asked, then proceeded to speak _for_ the reindeer.

 **"Give me a snack."**

"What's the magic word?"

 **"Please!"**

The man pulled a carrot out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Sven. Sven tried to bite the whole thing, and the man wasn't happy about that.

"Hey, hey, hey! Share!"

Sven took a smaller bite. The man then had a bite himself, not seeming to care that the carrot was covered in reindeer saliva. _Gross!_

Trying not to gag, I turned away to see a tiny man walk by with two men following him. I distinctly heard the shorter man say, "Ah, Arendelle, our most mysterious trade partner. Open those gates so I may unlock your secrets and exploit your riches... Did I just say that out loud?" I stared after him, my eyes narrowing. Now what could that man be up to?

"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, over here!"

We all turned to see a girl about eighteen with strawberry blonde hair done up in a fancy braided bun and wearing a green dress run towards us. She and Rapunzel embraced right there on the dock.

"It's so good to see you, again!" Rapunzel exclaimed. She then faced us and said, "Everyone, this is my cousin, Anna! She's Elsa's younger sister! Anna, these are my friends!" And one by one she said our names. However, it was pretty awkward to be introduced as the Queen of Incantationen.

"I can't wait to show you everything! Come on!" Anna shouted, turning around.

We had only taken a few steps when I suddenly slammed into the breast of a horse, fell back and landed in a small wooden boat perched precariously on the dock. It began to tip, but then the horse slammed its hoof onto the boat and steadied it.

"Yeesh! That's gotta hurt!" said Timon.

"Hey!" I shouted in frustration. Catherine and Alyss gasped. Flynn Rider swore under his breath. Lifting my gaze, I stared in disbelief at the horse and its rider. "H-Hans?" I stammered out. Our last encounter did not go so well.

"I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?" he asked, focusing on me.

"Hey. I-ya, no. No. I'm okay," I replied awkwardly. _What's he doing here?!_

"Are you sure?" he demanded and I could see the concern written plainly on his face.

"Yeah, I just wasn't looking where I was going. But I'm okay," I insisted. He hopped down from his horse and stepped into the boat. "I'm great, actually."

"Oh, thank goodness," he said in relief, offering a hand. I took it and he hauled me up to my feet. "I'm glad to see you again, Aralyne." He bowed and I just politely nodded my head.

The horse shifted his foot, and the boat suddenly tipped. Hans tumbled forward on top of me, and I felt my face heat up. The horse slammed his foot back into the boat to stabilize it, and we tumbled the other way, this time me landing on top of him.

"Ha. This is awkward," I said sounding like a spazz, "Not you're awkward, but just because we're- I'm awkward. You're gorgeous. Wait, what? No! I meant -"

Hans laughed and got to his feet, helping me up again. "A little flustered now aren't you? Anyways, I'd like to formally apologize for hitting the Queen of Incantationen with my horse...and for every moment after."

"No. No-no. It's fine," I insisted, stepping off the boat, then patted the horse. "Hello, Sitron. Well, it's been, um, nice talking to you again, but I really must get going." I quickly returned to my friends' side. Catherine, Alyss, and Flynn all gave me concerned looks.

"What was that about?" Danny inquired sidling up to me.

"Nothing," I muttered peering over my shoulder at Hans. He waved at me, as did Sitron, removing his hoof off the boat. The boat suddenly fell, with Hans still in it. He landed in the water with a _splash_ and soon resurfaced gasping for air. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

After arriving at the castle, Anna showed us to our rooms and we immediately started getting ready for the coronation. All of the males had vanished into their own separate rooms, while all of us girls congregated into Anna's. It was fun dressing up together, and absolutely hilarious when Anna, Rapunzel, and Aurora managed to get Merida into a tight pale blue dress and stuffed all her wild curls into a headdress.

"I can't breathe," she gasped out. After having my laugh, I took pity on her and removed the headdress. Of course there was nothing to do about her hair, so it was left loose.

Anna was already set for the celebration, so she helped the rest of us out. Aurora and her sisters had matching shimmery pink dresses. Anne-Marie's dress was yellow and adorable with ribbons and lace. Jasmine and Rapunzel put on purple dresses that sparkled. Sam's gown was entirely Gothic with black and purple, her hair pulled into two ponytails. Catherine wore a short, tight, golden dress with elbow-length gloves, her hair pulled up into a bun. Alyss wore a red and blue dress with long flowing sleeves, her hair in a half ponytail. And I wore a low cut, off the shoulder lavender dress. My hair was pulled back into a small bun at the back and a silver tiara rested upon my head.

"Can we go see Elsa before the coronation?" Rapunzel inquired.

Anna hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes, I suppose so."

We all rushed out of Anna's room and followed the Arendelle princess down the hall a bit until we came to Elsa's room. Anna knocked before entering and we all filed in. Elsa was standing at a window and when we entered, she turned to face us. She was very pretty with light blonde hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head, and her dress had many colours to it.

"Elsa!" Rapunzel exclaimed, rushing forward for a hug, but the soon-to-be queen held up a hand.

"Please, don't touch me," she said in a soft voice, then looked about at all of us. Rapunzel skid to a halt, somewhat stunned. It must have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a hint of fear in Elsa's blue eyes. "What are you all doing here?"

"We wanted to see you before the coronation," Anna explained.

"Please leave," Elsa commanded. I stared at her, sensing that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out what.

Anna ushered us out of the room, and we headed off to the church chapel instead. There, we met up with the men and all took seats. To my horror, Hans chose a seat not far from us.

When the coronation began, Anna had to stand off to one side of Elsa. Honestly, the whole thing was very boring and I spaced out through most of it. All I remembered was the end. The crown was placed on Elsa's head, and a scepter and orb were presented to her on a pillow. She slowly reached for them, but she paused a moment to remove her blue gloves. The poor girl looked nervous about the whole thing as she turned to face us.

The Bishop then spoke in Old Norse. "Sehm hon HELL-drr IN-um HELL-gum AYG-num ok krund ee THES-um HELLgah STAHTH, ehk teh frahm FUR-ear Uthear... Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," everyone in the crowd repeated. Elsa quickly replaced the orb and scepter and slipped on her gloves. My eyes narrowed as I watched her.

Once that was over, everyone made it to the great hall for the ball, and by then night had fallen. The music was lively and people were dancing, eating, and laughing.

I spent the evening with my friends, enjoying the whole thing until I saw Prince Hans heading my way. I didn't want another awkward moment between us, so I excused myself to get something to drink. Moving through the crowd, I suddenly got bumped by a bowing man's butt, and fell. Just before I hit the floor, a hand reached out and caught mine.

"Glad I caught you," said a familiar voice, and I lifted my head to stare up at the man I thought I would never see again.

My throat tightened and I squeaked out, "Tulio."

"Hi," he said with an amused smile.

"Hi me...? Oh, um, I mean hi," I stammered out. _This had to be a dream!_

"You look beautiful," he said.

I flushed, suddenly feeling very exposed in this low cut dress. "Thank you," I muttered. "Tulio, what are you doing here? I thought you were working for -"

"Shh," he shushed looking around at the other guests. I followed his gaze to see Hans watching us, glaring. Didn't the two of them have some sort of bad history? "Come with me." Still holding onto my hand, he led me outside, and I couldn't help myself. I started crying the moment we had privacy away from the party.

"What? What is it?" he inquired.

"It's like you're back from the dead," I quietly said, "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Hey, it's okay," he said lifting my face towards him and wiping away my tears.

"I- I've really missed you," I stammered out, throwing my arms around him. I felt him stiffen but then he hugged me back.

"I've missed you too."

Tulio then pulled me away from the castle all together, and took me towards the docks where we walked hand-in-hand.

 _"Can you feel the love tonight?  
The peace the evening brings  
The world, for once, in perfect harmony  
With all its living things"_

We climbed aboard a ship that was not being watched and I sat down on the railings facing the water. Tulio stood behind me, his arms wrapped about my waist to keep me from falling.

 _"So many things to tell her  
But how to make her see  
The truth about my past? Impossible!  
She'd turn away from me"_

For some odd reason, I could sense that something was off, and I didn't know what it was.

 _"He's holding back, he's hiding  
But what, I can't decide  
Why won't he be the man I know he is  
The man I see inside?"_

Tulio buried his face into the crook of my neck and kissed me there. It sent pleasant shivers down my spine. Gently pushing him back, I turned and hopped off the railing. With a grin, I took off running off the ship. Just as I had hoped, he chased after me.

 _"Can you feel the love tonight?  
The peace the evening brings  
The world, for once, in perfect harmony  
With all its living things"_

We ended up back at the castle, inside the garden to be precise, and he finally caught me, his arms wrapping around my waist. We tumbled to the ground, and he fell on top of me, the two of us laughing. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Surprised, he stared down at me for a moment before kissing me.

 _"Can you feel the love tonight?  
You needn't look too far  
Stealing through the night's uncertainties  
Love is where they are"_

The moment didn't last, though. He quickly broke it off and growled, startling me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"This was a mistake," he suddenly snapped. Leaving me where I was, he got to his feet and quickly vanished.

"Tulio!" I called out, sitting up, but he was gone.

Perhaps this really was a dream after all?

"Aralyne?"

"Aralyne!"

"There she is!"

I was suddenly surrounded by Alyss, Catherine, Danny, Sam, and Flynn.

"Where were you?"

"We got worried."

"What are you doing out here on the ground?"

Flynn helped me up to my feet, and I brushed grass off my dress. Avoiding their gazes, I said, "I was with Tulio." Now that I said it out loud, I realized how insane that sounded, and winced.

"What?!"

"Aralyne, Tulio wasn't at the ball."

"He can't be here. He's with Siren!"

"I know what I saw, okay," I snapped at them, "I know what I - what I felt." My lips were still tingling from the contact.

"Come on, let's get you inside," said Flynn wrapping an arm around my shoulders. _That's right. He was Tulio's friend, wasn't he?_

The took me back to the ball, but I was no longer having fun, or paying attention. I just kept thinking of my evening with Tulio. Standing against a wall, I watched in slight boredom as Anna pushed through the crowd towards Elsa, Hans in tow.

"Oops! Pardon. Sorry. Can we just get around you there? Thank you. Oh, there she is," said the quirky princess, "Elsa!" Elsa turned to her sister. Anna curtsied awkwardly and continued speaking, "I mean... Queen... Me again. Um. May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

Hans bowed to Elsa. "Your Majesty." Elsa gave a polite but reserved curtsy.

The princess was practically bouncing off the walls as she and Hans took turns speaking.

"We would like-"

"-your blessing of"

The spoke together, "-our marriage!"

" _What?!_ " I shrieked.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 _(Song in this chapter is "Reindeers are Better than People" from the movie Frozen.)_

My friends gave me a startled and confused look, but I ignored them. Hans cut me a quick glance but returned his attention to Elsa.

"Marriage...?" Elsa repeated.

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused," said Elsa. _As am I!_

Anna then said, "Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves. We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course we'll have soup, roast, and ice cream and then-Wait. Would we live here?"

"Here?" Elsa said.

"Absolutely!" Hans agreed.

By now, everyone at the ball had their attention, and were watching in interest.

"Anna-" said Elsa, but she was cut off by more of her sister's planning.

"Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us-

"What? No, no, no, no, no," said Elsa, but Anna wasn't listening.

"Of course we have the room. I don't know. Some of them must-"

"Wait. Slow down," said Elsa now gaining her sister's attention, "No one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married."

"Wait, what?" said the younger sister in disbelief.

"May I talk to you, please. Alone," said Elsa.

Anna saw Hans's worried face, and hooked her arm with his. "No. Whatever you have to say, you can say to both of us."

"Fine. You can't marry a man you just met," Elsa declared.

"You can if it's true love," Anna protested.

"Anna, what do you know about true love?" asked the Queen of Arendelle.

"More than you. All you know is how to shut people out," Anna snapped.

I guess the Queen and I had something in common, then.

Elsa honestly looked hurt by that statement, but regained her composure and said, "You asked for my blessing, but my answer is no. Now, excuse me."

Hans finally spoke up during this encounter, "Your Majesty, if I may ease your-"

"No, you may not," Elsa said, in frustration, "And I-I think you should go." Elsa walked away, and as she passed the Royal Handle, she added, "The party is over. Close the gates."

"What? Elsa, no. No, wait!" Becoming desperate, Anna grabbed Elsa's hand, and accidentally pulled off Elsa's glove. Elsa gasped, spinning around and reaching for the glove in a panic.

"Give me my glove!" Elsa demanded, but Anna held it out of her reach.

Anna was now begging. "Elsa, please. Please. I can't live like this anymore."

"Then leave," Elsa said weakly, fighting back tears. She turns back towards the door.

Eilonwy reached out and grabbed Anna's arm, but Anna shrugged her off and said, completely heartbroken, "What did I ever do to you?!" The whole party had gone silent now.

"Enough, Anna," Elsa growled out.

"No. Why? Why do you shut me out?! Why do you shut the world out?! What are you so afraid of?!" Anna demanded.

"I said, enough!" Elsa shouted.

Ice suddenly shot from Elsa's ungloved hand, creating a wall of spikes between her and us.

Everyone gasped and cried out in shock. The little man I had seen on the docks (who I learned is the Duke of Weselton) snarled out, "Sorcery. I knew there was something dubious going on here.

Apparently magic wasn't very common here in Arendelle. She would have been welcomed in Nesidy.

"Elsa?" Anna quietly said.

Now terrified, Elsa ran out of the Great Hall. The first to follow were the Duke and his thugs.

Without any thought, Anna, Hans, Rapunzel, Merida, and I went after them. Of course, Alyss, Catherine, Danny, Sam, and Flynn were right behind me.

We got to the entrance of the castle in time to hear the Duke shout, "There she is! Stop her!"

From outside, Elsa's frightened voice said, "Please, just stay away from me. Stay away!"

Some of her magic turned the staircase to ice, causing the Duke and his thugs to fall over.

"Monster... Monster!" the Duke cried out.

We finally made it to the door to see Elsa had turned the water fountain to ice, and a sudden snow storm beginning. The Queen was terrified and took off running. We continued to chase after her, except for the Duke and his men.

"Elsa!" Anna called out, but the Queen ignored her. Elsa ran out of the gates and down to the water's edge. "Elsa! Wait, please!"

The older sister glanced back at us, then turned away, taking a tentative step out onto the fjord. She then took off running over the water.

"Elsa, stop!" Anna begged, rushing out onto the fjord ice. She slipped and fell.

"Anna!" Hans cried, racing to her side. We all skid to a halt and watched as Elsa disappeared, the fjord now completely frozen over, the ships stuck where they were.

"Want me to go after her?" Danny inquired.

"No," I said, "There's no telling what she might do."

After Hans helped Anna to her feet, we returned to the castle, snow now drifting from the sky.

"Are you all right?" I asked Anna.

"No," she said in shock.

"Did you know about her powers?" I inquired. Anna's answer was the same.

Nearby, the Duke was hopping about in fright. "Look! It's snowing! It's snowing! The Queen has cursed this land! She must be stopped!" He turned to his thugs and said, "You have to go after her."

"Wait, no!" Anna quickly said rushing towards the Duke.

He his behind his thugs and pointed at the Princess. "You! Is there sorcery in you, too? Are you a monster, too?"

"No. No. I'm completely ordinary," she said, "and my sister's not a monster."

"She nearly killed me!" the Duke cried.

"You slipped on ice," Alyss pointed out.

" _Her_ ice!" the Duke continued.

"It was an accident," Anna protested, "She was scared. She didn't mean it. She didn't mean any of this... Tonight was my fault. I pushed her. So I'm the one that needs to go after her."

"Yes. Fine. Do," agreed the Duke.

"No," I said, "As Queen of Incantation, it's my duty to make sure everything is right in this world. I'll go."

"What?!" all of my friends exclaimed.

"But she's _my_ sister," Anna protested. Before I could say anymore, she called out to the Royal Handler, "Bring me my horse, please."

"I'm going, too!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"And me!" added Merida, "You could use the protection."

"I can take care of myself," I said in exasperation.

"Not you, the Princess, and Rapunzel," Merida explained.

"Fine!" I snapped, "Can we go now?!"

The Royal Handler brought Anna her horse, and us four females jumped onto its back. It was a bit of tight fit, but we managed.

"I'm coming with you," Hans said, but I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or Anna. His eyes kept flickering back and forth between us.

"We all are," Catherine declared.

"No, I need you here to take care of Arendelle," Anna said to Hans.

He nodded and said, "On my honor."

"I leave Prince Hans in charge!" Anna said to the crowd.

Looking pointedly at Alyss, Catherine, and Flynn I said, "I need you three to keep an eye on things. Danny, you stay here to keep them safe." I had a bad feeling about all of this, especially with Hans around.

"Are you sure you can trust her? I don't want you getting hurt," Hans said, but I still couldn't tell if he was talking to me or Anna.

"She's my sister; she would never hurt me," Anna said. She snapped the reins and we rode out.

* * *

High up in the mountains, Elsa had climbed up to the highest peak, and stopped, looking around to catch her breath. She took off her remaining glove and threw it into the air. It flew off into the night. Now that she was alone, she decided to play around with her powers and created a snowman. Undoing the clasp on her cape, she let it fly off in the wind.

When Elsa came upon a gap in the mountains, she created ice steps and ran up them. Reaching the other side of the gap, she stomped her foot and formed a giant snowflake. Becoming creative, she raised the snowflake on ice beams, built walls, archways, a chandelier, and a ceiling. Standing firmly in her new ice palace, Elsa removed her crown and tossed it aside. She let down her hair into a braid, and created a new dress made of ice. She was finally free!

* * *

We had traveled all night and by dawn, we still hadn't found Elsa. All four of us were shivering from the cold, but we weren't going to give up.

"Elsa!" Anna called out, "Elsa! It's me, Anna... your sister who didn't mean to make you freeze the summer. I'm sorry. It's all my f-f-f-f-f-f-fault."

As the hours went by, we struggled through a wooded area. "Of course, none of this would have happened if she'd just told me her secret... ha... she's a stinker," Anna said to us. A branch of a nearby tree snapped, startling the horse. We slid off his back and looked up in time to see he had run away.

"Oh no. No. No. No. Come back. No. No. No. No," moaned Rapunzel, but the horse vanished.

"Oooo-kay," said Merida as we climbed to our feet, "Looks like we're doing it on foot." We walked the rest of the day, hunger gnawing at us. Finally the sun set and we were once again thrown into darkness.

"Snow, it had to be snow," Merida complained, "she couldn't have had tr-tr-tropical magic that covered the f-f-fjords in white sand and warm -"

"Fire!" Rapunzel said in delight. We followed her gaze to see smoke rising in the air not far from us. In fact, it was right down the next hill.

We all rushed towards it, but then I slipped and tumbled down the hill, landing in an icy stream at the bottom. I screamed and quickly jumped out. "Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold..."

The others followed me down and we could see the smoke was coming from a building. We ran right up to it. There was a sign on the building that Anna read aloud, "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post. Ooh! And Sauna..." We rushed in and slammed the door behind us, glad to be out of the cold. Looking around, we saw only summer supplies in stock.

"Hoo, hoo," said a happy-looking man sitting behind the counter, "Big summer blow out. Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention, yah?"

"Oh, great. For now, how about boots. Winter boots... and dresses?" I inquired.

"That would be in our winter department," said Oaken gesturing the the wall in the far back. The girls and I rushed over to find very little back there, but thankfully, there were some dresses, boots, and cloaks. We grabbed what we needed and went back to the counter to pay.

"Oh. Um, I was just wondering," said Anna nonchalantly, "has another young woman, the Queen perhaps, I don't know, passed through here?"

"Only ones crazy enough to be out in this storm are you, dear," said Oaken. The front door suddenly blew open and in walked a large man covered in ice. "You and this fellow... Hoo hoo. Big summer blow out." The iced man stalked right up to us. Rapunzel squeaked and ducked behind Merida. Merida grabbed a crossbow and pointed it at the stranger.

Finally the man said, "Carrots."

"Huh?" said us females in confusion.

"Behind you," he explained.

"Oh, right. Excuse us," I said nudging the girls out of the way. Merida returned the crossbow. We watched the man grab a bunch of carrots and toss them onto the counter before going to the winter stock to grab a pick and rope.

"A real howler in July, yah? Where ever could it be coming from?" said Oaken, trying to make conversation with the stranger.

"The North Mountain," said the man bringing his supplies to the counter. My friends and I exchanged glances.

"That'll be forty," said Oaken.

"Forty? No, ten," the man protested.

"Oh dear, that's no good. See these are from our winter stock, where supply and demand have a big problem," Oaken explained.

"You want to talk about a supply and demand problem? I sell _ice_ for a living." _Ouch!_

"Ooh, that's a rough business to be in right now. I mean, that is really," said Anna. The man shot her a deadly look and I elbowed her in the arm. "Ahem. That's unfortunate."

"Still forty," Oaken insisted, "But I will throw in a visit to Oaken's sauna."

"Ten's all I got. Help me out," the man said.

Pointing to the carrots, Oaken said, "Ten will get you this and no more."

"Okay, just tell me one thing," said Rapunzel, "what was happening on the North Mountain? Did it seem magical?"

The man pulled down his scarf and gave her a firm answer. "Yes! Now, back up while I deal with this crook here."

Oaken stood up, showing that he was much taller than the man. I almost fell over backwards just gazing up at him.

"What did you call me?" Oaken demanded. He grabbed the man, opened the door and tossed him outside.

"Okay. Okay, I'm- Ow! Whoa!"

"Bye, bye," said Oaken, before slamming the door.

He returned behind the counter and smiled. "I'm sorry about this violence. I will add a quart of lutefisk, so we'll have good feelings. Just the outfits and boots, yah?"

I looked down at the man's winter supplies, then the door, and finally at Anna. It looked like she and I had the same idea.

"The outfits, boots, carrots, rope, and pick," said Anna.

"I need a bow," said Merida picking up one and a quiver of arrows.

I nodded and Oaken calculated the price. "200"

I took the silver tiara off my head and handed it over. I wasn't sure how much it was worth, but I was guessing it had to be way more than 200.

Oaken took the tiara as payment, and we went into a back room to change out of our ballgowns. Now in our new outfits, we tossed our things and the carrots into a bag, and put the rope, and pick into another bag before leaving the trading post.

"Now where do you think he went to?" I asked looking around for the man.

"Listen," said Anna pointing to a barn. We could hear a lute being strum and someone singing.

 _"Reindeers are better than people_

 _Sven, don't you think that's true?_

 _ **Yeah, people will beat you and curse and cheat you**_

 _ **Every one of 'em's bad, except you**_

 _Oh, thanks Buddy_

 _But people smell better than reindeers._

 _Sven, don't you think I'm right?_

 _ **That's once again true, for all except you.**_

 _You got me. Let's call it a night._

 _ **Good night**_

 _Don't let the frostbite bite."_

The girls and I started laughing, and once we composed ourselves, we entered the barn.

"Nice duet," said Anna.

The ice man eyed us. "Oh, it's just you. What do you want?"

"We want you to take us up the North Mountain," I said.

I scoffed and settled into the hay. "I don't take people places."

"Let me rephrase that," said Merida throwing the sack of winter supplies onto the man's lap. He sat up and looked inside the bag. "Take us up the North Mountain..."

"Please," Rapunzel added. He eyed us once more before getting ready to go to bed.

"We leave at dawn... And you forgot the carrots for Sven."

Rapunzel tossed the carrots to him and smacked him in the face. "Oops. Sorry. Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to!"

"We leave now," I said breaking across her apology, "Right now."

He gave us an annoyed look.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The man had introduced himself as Kristoff and we left Oaken's in his sled, being pulled by Sven the reindeer. We were on a high mountain going at top speed upon a narrow cliff, while Kristoff drove. He sat in the middle with Anna and Rapunzel on one side, and Merida and me on the other. Anna and I were the ones sitting next to Kristoff.

"Hang on! We like to go fast!" Kristoff warned us.

"I like fast!" Anna and I replied.

The Princess leaned back and put her feet up on the dashboard.

"Whoa, whoa! Get your feet down," said Kristoff shoving them off the dashboard, "This is fresh lacquer. Seriously, were you raised in a barn?" He spit on the dash to clean it and I curled my lip in disgust.

"Ew. No, I was raised in a castle," Anna replied.

"So tell me, what made the Queen go all ice-crazy?" he inquired.

"Oh well, it was all my fault," Anna replied nonchalantly, "I got engaged but then she freaked out because I'd only just met him, you know, that day. And she said she wouldn't bless the marriage-"

"Wait. You got engaged to someone you just met?" Kristoff said in disbelief.

"That's what I'm saying," I muttered, arms folded across my chest. Kristoff ignored me, but Merida raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Anyway, I got mad and so she got mad and then she tried to walk away, and I grabbed her glove-" Anna continued.

"Hang on. You mean to tell me you got engaged to someone you just met?!" Kristoff repeated.

Becoming frustrated, Anna said, "Yes. Pay attention. But the thing is she wore the gloves all the time, so I just thought, maybe she has a thing about dirt."

"Didn't your parents ever warn you about strangers?"

"Yes, they did," said Rapunzel.

"But Hans is not a stranger," her cousin protested.

"Oh yeah? What's his last name?" asked Kristoff.

"Of-the-Southern-Isles?" said Anna.

"Westerguard," I corrected.

"What's his favorite food?" Kristoff questioned.

"Sandwiches," Anna answered.

"Sandwiches," I agreed.

"Best friend's name?" Kristoff inquired.

"Probably John," said Anna.

"Sitron," I replied.

"Eye color," Kristoff demanded.

"Dreamy," Anna said with a sigh.

"Green," I said matter of factly.

"Foot size...?" Kristoff asked with a smirk, this time eyeing me. I blushed realizing what he meant, but apparently Anna missed the implication.

"Foot size doesn't matter," said the Princess.

"Pervert," I muttered, turning away from him.

"Have you had a meal with him yet?" our driver continued, "What if you hate the way he eats? What if you hate the way he picks his nose?"

"Picks his nose?" Rapunzel repeated.

"And eats it," Kristoff said with relish.

"Excuse me, sir. He's a prince," Anna said haughtily.

"All men do it," he said matter of factly.

"He does not!" I snapped. At that point my mind had drifted between Hans and Tulio and I didn't know which one I had just stuck up for.

"Ew. Look it doesn't matter; it's true love," Anna insisted.

"Doesn't sound like true love," said Kristoff, "Besides, your friend here seems to know more about him than you do."

All eyes then focused on me and I felt myself heat up. "Okay! So I lived with Hans for a while, but I swear _nothing_ happened! We're just friends!" _Sort of._ _Frenemies?_

"Are you some sort of love expert?" Merida asked Kristoff in exasperation.

"No. But I have friends who are," he answered.

"You have friends who are love experts?" I scoffed, "I'm not buying it."

Sven suddenly stopped, his ears perked in alarm.

"Stop talking," Kristoff said looking around the area. Even Merida was on high alert. He stood up and surveyed the dark woods, holding up his lantern. The light reflected off several pairs of eyes. "Sven, go. Go!" The reindeer took off as fast as he could.

"What are they?" Rapunzel squeaked in fear.

"Wolves," Merida replied getting her bow and arrow ready. The canines chased us.

Kristoff handed me the reigns and hopped into the back of the sled, grabbing a torch. He lit it.

"Wolves? What do we do?" Anna inquired looking around for a weapon.

"I've got this. You just... don't fall off and don't get eaten," he ordered.

Merida rolled her eyes and started firing arrows at the canines.

"But I wanna help," Anna protested.

"No," said Kristoff firmly.

"Why not?" the Princess demanded.

"Because I don't trust your judgement," he explained. I snorted and tried not to laugh.

"Excuse me?!" Anna shrieked.

A wolf jumped at us, but Kristoff kicked it away. "Who marries a man she just met?"

Anna grabbed the lute, and swung it at Kristoff's head, screaming, "It's true love!" He ducked and she accidentally knocked a wolf away, instead.

Just then he was yanked off the sled by another wolf. The torch went flying and Rapunzel caught it.

"Christopher!" Anna yelled, and I peered back just long enough to see him hanging onto a loose rope from the back of the sled, and being dragged through the snow.

"It's Kristoff!" he shouted back.

Rapunzel grabbed a blanket from the back and set it on fire. "Duck!" she yelled, throwing the flaming blanket at him. Kristoff ducked, so that the blanket hit the wolves instead.

"You almost set me on fire!" he exclaimed as Anna hauled him back onto the sled.

"But I didn't," she pointed out.

Hearing Sven cry out, I faced forward once more to see there a massive gorge ahead of us.

"Get ready to jump, Sven!" I called to the reindeer.

"You don't tell him what to do!" Kristoff said shoving a satchel into Anna's arms, then scooping her up. He tossed her onto Sven's back. "I do!" He then did the same to Rapunzel, then me, and Merida jumped on her own without his help. Kristoff unhooked Sven's harness from the sled. "Jump, Sven!"

Sven leaped over the gorge with all of us girls on his back. Kristoff was still on the sled. The reindeer landed safely on the other side of the gorge. We quickly jumped off Sven's back and turned to see Kristoff's sled had lost momentum. It wasn't going to make it. He jumped off, and slammed into the snowy edge of the cliff. Dangling by his hands, he looked down to see his sled hit the ground far below and burst into flames.

"But I just paid it off," he sadly said. Suddenly, he started to slip and couldn't get a firm hold on the snow. "Uh-oh. No, no, no."

Snatching the satchel from Anna, I peered inside to see the pick and the rope. Pulling out the two items, I tied the rope to one end, the tied the other end around Sven's middle. I threw the pick over the side of the cliff, and it slammed into the snow, inches from his nose.

"Grab on!" I called out to him. He latched onto the rope, and the four of us, plus Sven pulled Kristoff up over the edge of the cliff. Once he was safe, he rolled over onto his back, exhausted.

"I'll replace your sled and everything in it," Anna said apologetically. He simply groaned. "And I understand if you don't want to help us anymore." She walked off and we followed her. A bit later, Kristoff and Sven rejoined us.

Again, day turned into night, and as we stepped out of the thick trees, we caught sight of the kingdom below us.

"Arendelle," I said in half surprise, half awe.

"It's completely frozen," Merida said.

"But it'll be fine. Elsa will thaw it," said Rapunzel.

"Will she?" asked Kristoff.

"Yeah," said Anna now sounding a bit uncertain, "Now come on. This way to the North Mountain?" She was pointing to the path straight ahead.

"More like this way," Kristoff corrected, pointing her finger up towards a perilously mighty mountain.

As we continued travelling, we soon came to some frozen willows. Icicles were dangling off the branches, making it seem almost magical.

"I never knew winter could be so beautiful," said Merida brushing a hand against a branch.

A random voice suddenly said, "Yeah... It really is beautiful, isn't it? But it's so white. You know, how about a little color? Must we bleach the joy out of it all? I'm thinking like maybe some crimson, chartreuse..." All of us exchanged confused glances then looked around for the source of the voice. A nose-less snowman finally wandered our way. "How 'bout yellow- no, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brrrr... no go." He stopped between Merida and Rapunzel. The former backed up in surprise, but the latter just observed him in interest. "Am I right?"

Merida screamed and she kicked the snowman's head, sending it flying off his body and into Kristoff's arms.

"Hi!" said the head.

"You're creepy," said Kristoff tossing the head to me.

"I don't want it!" I exclaimed throwing it to Merida.

"Don't!" she said tossing it back to Kristoff.

"Come on, it's just a head," he said flinging it over at Anna.

"No!" she cried in alarm as the snowman's body ran towards her, arms waving.

"All right, we got off to a bad start," said the head.

"Ew, ew, the body!" Anna slammed the head back on the body, but it was upside down. The snowman smiled happily, then looked at us confused.

"Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you hanging off the earth like a bat?" asked the snowman.

Rapunzel was sympathatic to the creature and said, "Okay. Wait one second." She knelt before him and set his head on right.

"Oooh! Thank you!" said the snowman in delight.

"You're welcome," Rapunzel said with a smile.

"Now I'm perfect!"

"Well, almost," said Rapunzel, digging through Kristoff's satchel. She accidentally slammed a carrot through his head.

"Woo! Head rush!"

"Oh! Too hard. I'm sorry! I-I, I was just... Are you okay?" Rapunzel said in way of apology.

The snowman saw the tiny bit of carrot sticking out of his head and he grinned. "Are you kidding me? I am wonderful! I've always wanted a nose. So cute. It's like a little baby unicorn." Rapunzel reached behind the snowman to the part of the carrot sticking out of the back of his head, and pushed it forward. "What? Hey! Whoa. Oh, I love it even more! Hah... All right, let's start this thing over. Hi everyone. I'm Olaf. And I like warm hugs."

"Olaf?" said Anna in confusion. Then almost as if she remembered something, she added, "That's right, Olaf."

"And you are?" he prompted.

"Oh, um... I'm Anna."

"I'm her cousin, Rapunzel!"

"My name is Merida. Sorry for kicking you."

"And I'm Aralyne."

"And who's the funky-looking donkey over there?" Olaf inquired gesturing to where Kristoff and Sven were standing.

"That's Sven," Anna explained.

"Uh-huh. And who's the reindeer?" asked Olaf.

I burst out laughing and Kristoff gave me the evil eye. "Sorry," I snickered.

"Sven," Anna said.

Olaf looked confused. "Oh. They're-oh, okay... Makes things easier for me."

"Olaf, did Elsa build you?" Rapunzel inquired.

"Yeah. Why?" said the snowman.

Curious, Kristoff took one of Olaf's twig arms off to study it. It seemed to be moving in sync with his other arm.

"Do you know where she is?" Anna questioned.

"Fascinating," Kristoff muttered.

"Yeah. Why?" said the snowman.

"Do you think you could show us the way?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?" said the snowman.

"How does this work?" asked Kristoff bending the arm. When it snapped back into shape, it slapped him across the face.

"Stop it, Sven. Trying to focus here," said Olaf regaining his arm. He then added, "Yeah, why?"

"I'll tell you why. We need Elsa to bring back summer," Kristoff explained.

"Summer?" Olaf said in excitement, "Oh, I don't know why but I've always loved the idea of summer, and sun, and all things hot."

"Really? I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat," said Merida.

"Nope," Olaf said, "But sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'd be like when summer does come." I had to hold back another laugh.

"I'm gonna tell him," Kristoff said.

"I _want_ to tell him," I replied.

"Don't you dare," Anna and Rapunzel hissed at us.

"So, come on!" Olaf exclaimed running off, "Elsa's this way. Let's go bring back summer!" He grabbed Rapunzel's hand and pulled her along up the mountain.

"I'm coming!" Rapunzel said with a laugh. Sven, Merida, and Anna went after them.

"Somebody's got to tell him," Kristoff said.

"Maybe not just yet," I said, then grabbed his hand and dragged him along after the group.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Back in the village, a layer of ice coated everything. People were huddled around weak fires. Anxiety was running high among the villagers and guests. Hans moved through the crowd making sure everyone was okay. Alyss, Catherine, and Flynn had been watching him since Aralyne's departure to make sure he wasn't up to anything.

"Cloak. Does anyone need a cloak?" the Prince asked. He then added, "The castle is open. There's soup and hot glögg in the Great Hall." Handing the stack of cloaks to a guard, he instructed, "Here. Pass these out." Just then the Duke of Weselton approached Hans.

"Prince Hans, are we just expected to sit here and freeze while you give away all of Arendelle's tradable goods?" the Duke demanded.

"Princess Anna has given her orders and-" but the Prince was cut off.

"And that's another thing; has it dawned on you that your princess may be conspiring with a wicked sorceress to destroy us all?"

Hans's eyes narrowed. "Do not question the Princess," he snarled, "She left me in charge, and I will not hesitate to protect Arendelle from treason."

"Treason?!" the Duke gasped in offense. Suddenly they heard the alarmed whinny of Anna's horse as it returned alone, bucking and kicking.

Hans grabbed its reins. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, boy. Easy. Easy."

"Princess Anna's horse!" Alyss exclaimed.

"What happened to the girls?" Catherine asked.

"Where is Aralyne?" Flynn demanded.

Hans steadied the horse, and looked up at the mountain. How was he supposed to get his reward if he failed Siren?

"Princess Anna and her friends are in trouble," said Hans facing the crowd, "I need volunteers to go with me to find them!"

Many people, some from Arendelle, some from other lands, rush up to offer their services.

"I'm going," said Flynn Rider, to the sisters, "Tulio would kill me if anything happened to Aralyne."

"Be careful," said Alyss.

"We'll tell the others where you've gone," added Catherine.

"I volunteer two men, my Lord!" said the Duke of Weselton, then added quietly to his thugs, "Be prepared for anything, and should you encounter the Queen, you are to put an end to this winter. Do you understand?" His two men sneered.

* * *

We moved through an area where icicles were frozen horizontally, and had to keep swerving around them to avoid being stabbed.

"So how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?" Merida asked Anna.

"Oh, I am gonna talk to my sister," Anna said confidently.

"That's your plan?" Kristoff asked in disbelief, "My ice business is riding on you talking to your sister?"

"Kristoff, look out!" I said, grabbing his arm and preventing him from taking another step forward. An icicle was just pricking his nose, and his eyes widened. With a gulp he moved around the icicle and gave me a thankful nod.

"So you're not at all afraid of her?" he inquired.

"Why would I be?" Anna asked.

"Yeah. I bet Elsa's the nicest, gentlest, warmest person ever," said Olaf walking right into an icicle. "Oh, look at that. I've been impaled."

We eventually left that hazardous area and came upon a mountain face that went straight up.

"Looks like we hit a dead end," said Merida looking up the steep mountain.

"What now?" Rapunzel inquired.

Kristoff looked around before diggin inside his satchel. "It's too steep. I've only got one rope, and none of you know how to climb mountains."

"Says who?" I demanded with hands on hips. Before I had discovered Incantationen, I used to go hiking in the New Mexico mountains and even climb up steep cliffs.

Sven nudged Kristoff and motioned towards the mountain. We turned to see Anna trying to climb the cliff's flat face.

"What are you doing?" Kristoff asked in exasperation.

"I'm going to see my sister," she said.

"You're going to kill yourself," Merida said, as we watched Anna searching for footholds and hand-holds.

"I wouldn't put my foot there," said Kristoff.

"You're distracting me," Anna snapped.

"Or there," said Kristoff, "How do you know Elsa even wants to see you?"

"I'm just blocking you out cause I gotta concentrate here," said Anna.

"You know, most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone," Kristoff pointed out.

"He's got a point," I said, "It's what I do."

"Nobody wants to be alone," Anna said wisely, "Except maybe you two-"

"There are times when I have to be alone to collect my emotions so I don't hurt people I care about," I replied, "I admit I can be a real bitch when I'm angry or upset."

"I'm not alone," Kristoff protested, "I have friends, remember?"

"You mean the love experts?" Merida snickered.

"Yes, the love experts!" Kristoff replied.

Anna finally stopped to take a break and was gasping. "Please tell me I'm almost there." She was only about six feet off the ground and I giggled. "Does the air seem a bit thin to you up here?"

"Hang on," said Kristoff pulling the rope out of his bag.

It was then that Olaf came out from behind a rock and said, "Hey, Sven? Not sure if this is going to solve the problem, but I found a staircase that leads exactly where you want it to go."

Anna laughed in relief. "Thank goodness. Catch!" She released her holds and dropped from the cliff, landing in Kristoff's open arms. He stared at her, stunned. "Thanks! That was like a crazy trust exercise." Rapunzel gave them a knowing look, and turned so her cousin wouldn't see her smile. Anna hopped out of Kristoff's arms, dusted off her dress, and bounded off. Kristoff stared after her in admiration and it suddenly clicked. He _liked_ her!

We followed Olaf around the rock to see a staircase made entirely of ice leading up to an ice castle.

"Whoa," Merida breathed.

"Now that's ice. I might cry," said Kristoff in awe.

"Go ahead. I won't judge," said Anna as we climbed the steps with Olaf. Sven tried to follow, but his hooves kept sliding all over the place.

"You stay right here, buddy," Kristoff said, and the reindeer obediently plopped down in a sitting position, wagging his tail. "Flawless."

When we arrived at the door, Anna turned to us and said, "All of you should probably wait out here."

"What?" we all exclaimed.

"Just give us a minute," Anna begged.

As she walked into the palace, Olaf started counting and we joined him.

"One... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight... nine... ten... eleven... twelve... thirteen... fourteen... fifteen... sixteen... seventeen... eighteen... nineteen... twenty... twenty-one... twenty-two... twenty-three... twenty-four... twenty-five... twenty-six... twenty-seven... twenty-eight... twenty-nine... thirty... thirty-one... thirty-two... thirty-three... thirty-four... thirty-five... thirty-six... thirty-seven... thirty-eight... thirty-nine... forty... forty-one... forty-two... forty-three... forty-four... forty-five... forty-six... forty-seven... forty-eight... forty-nine... fifty... fifty-one... fifty-two... fifty-three... fifty-four... fifty-five... fifty-six... fifty-seven... fifty-eight... fifty-nine... SIXTY!"

We entered the castle, and Elsa stared at us, particularly Olaf.

"Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs."

Elsa seemed shocked and repeated, "Olaf?"

The snowman stopped beside Anna and said, "You built me. You remember that?"

"And you're alive?" asked the Snow Queen in astonishment.

"Um...I think so?" Olaf said.

"He's just like the one we built as kids," said Anna, "We were so close. We can be like that again."

"No, we can't," said Elsa.

Rapunzel suddenly ran up the stairs and wrapped her arms around Elsa's arm. "Please come back," she begged.

Elsa shrugged her off and headed up another flight of steps. "Goodbye." Rapunzel looked so dejected.

"Elsa, wait," I called after her, quickly running up the steps with Anna at my heel. "My name is Aralyne. I'm the Queen of Incantationen. I had tried running away from my duties just like you're doing, but I realized I couldn't and neither can you. Arendelle is your responsibility."

"No. I'm just trying to protect everyone," Elsa said, continuing to flee.

"You don't have to protect us. We're not afraid," Anna persisted, "Please don't shut us out!"

"You don't have to keep your distance from everyone, Elsa," I said as Anna and I continued chasing after her, "We understand! You don't have to be afraid of us, either!"

We arrived on the top floor, trapping Elsa on a balcony. She turned to us, and said, "Please, go back home. I know you mean well, but leave me be. Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free. Just stay away and you'll be safe from me."

"Actually, we're not," said Anna.

"What do you mean you're not?" Elsa asked in confusion.

"I get the feeling you don't know," I said with worry.

"What do I not know?" Elsa demanded.

"Arendelle's in deep snow," Anna said, cringing.

"What?" Elsa said quietly.

"You kind of set off an eternal winter... everywhere," Anna explained.

"Everywhere?" Elsa repeated, now panicking.

"It's okay, you can just unfreeze it," I reassured her.

"No, I can't. I don't know how," Elsa said as snow began to swirl around the room.

"Sure you can. I know you can," Anna persisted. The snow became more intense.

"I can't control it!" Elsa exclaimed.

"Please, don't panic," I said in a soothing tone, but Elsa ignored me.

"You're not safe here," the Snow Queen said stepping away from us. The snow thickened into a blizzard. "I can't!" Elsa's fear was so intense, she reabsorbed the blizzard and then it burst out towards us. Anna pushed me out of the way, and she got struck in the heart. The Princess gasped in pain and stumbled backwards, falling to her knees.

The others rejoined us, and Kristoff rushed to Anna's side. "Anna. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay... I'm fine," Anna insisted, getting to her feet.

Elsa was now terrified. "You have to go."

"No, I know we can figure this out together," said Anna.

"How? What power do you have to stop this winter? To stop me?" Elsa demanded.

None of us said anything.

"I think we should go," said Merida.

Anna was now close to tears. "No. I'm not leaving without you, Elsa."

"Yes, you are," said the Snow Queen. She waved her arms and created a giant scary-looking snowman. Well, more like a monster.

The monster grabbed all of us in one hand, marched through the castle and tossed us out the front door. We flew past the stairs and landed in a snowbank.

"Go away!" roared the monster.

"It is not nice to throw people!" Anna yelled jumping to her feet.

Kristoff held her back. "All right feisty pants. Calm down. Just let the snow man be."

"Let me at him. I want to get him. I..." Anna saw the look Kristoff gave her and said, "Okay. I'm Calm." When she relaxed, Kristoff let her go. She then grabbed a snowball and threw it at the snow monster, hitting it in the back. The monster roared, spikes appearing all over his joints.

"Uh-oh. Now you made him mad!" Rapunzel squeaked in fear.

"I'll distract him. You guys go," Olaf said.

Kristoff pushed Anna along, and we followed, running for our lives. Sven took off in the opposite direction. The monster charged after us as we slid down a steep slope and came to a halt at the bottom. With no time to spare, we helped each other up and kept on running past a bunch of trees.

"This way!" Kristoff shouted.

For a moment, Anna paused to grab a branch of a sagging tree and released all of the snow so that the tree snapped back into the monster's face, knocking him over.

"I got him!" Anna cheered, but that didn't last long.

We all skid to a halt at the edge of a cliff.

"Whoa, stop!" Kristoff shouted throwing his arms back to keep me and Rapunzel from flying off the edge.

"It's a hundred foot drop," I gasped out, staring down at the snow way below us. I suddenly felt dizzy and wanted to throw up.

"It's two hundred," he corrected, pulling the rope out of his satchel, again, "Merida, keep the monster busy." Merida pulled out her bow and arrows and started firing them at the snow monster.

Kristoff tied the rope around all of our waists and pulled tight, before dropping to his knees and digging a u-shape in the snow with his pick.

"What's that for?" Rapunzel inquired.

"I'm digging a snow anchor," he explained.

"Okay. What if we fall?" Anna demanded.

"There's twenty feet of fresh powder down there; it'll be like landing on a pillow," said Kristoff, then added in an undertone, "Hopefully."

" _Hopefully?!_ " I shrieked, "Don't tell me _hopefully!_ I'm actually terrified of heights!"

"You never mentioned that," Merida said, shooting me a surprised glance.

"Because I never really think about how high off the ground I am when I'm performing stupid dangerous stunts," I explained.

"Okay. On three," Kristoff said, "One... Two..." The monster had gotten tired of Merida's arrows striking him, and grabbed a tree, tossing it at us.

"TREE!" Anna cried, jumping over the cliff, dragging the rest of us with her. I screamed until I realized I was hanging upside down over the cliff by the rope. It had kept up from plummeting to the ground.

"Whoa! That happened," said Rapunzel in surprise, holding tight onto the rope.

Olaf suddenly flew past us, screaming, "Hang in there, guys!"

Our rope was suddenly yanked up and found the snow monster had a hold of us. "Don't come back!" he roared, spraying us with snow.

"We won't," said Merida using one of her arrows to cut the rope.

We fell, and I screamed even more until I landed in soft, thick snow. Kristoff was right! Just like landing on a pillow! I gave a nervous laugh. We climbed to our feet right as Sven appeared.

"He found us," Olaf said in delight, " Who's my cute little reindeer?"

"Don't talk to him like that," Kristoff said.

"Now what?" I asked, dusting snow off my behind.

"Now what?" Anna repeated, then panicked, "Now what?! Oh! What am I gonna do? She threw me out. I can't go back to Arendelle with the weather like this. And then there's your ice business-"

"Hey, hey, don't worry about my ice business," said Kristoff. His eyes widened, and us girls gasped. "Worry about your hair!"

Anna smoothed it down "What? I just fell off a cliff. You should see your hair."

"No, yours is turning white," I explained.

She grabbed a braid and saw it to be true.

"It's because she struck you; isn't it?" Rapunzel quietly said.

"Does it look bad?" Anna nervously asked.

After a moment's pause, Kristoff said, "No."

"You hesitated," Olaf pointed out.

"No, I didn't," Kristoff insisted, "Anna, you need help. Now, come on."

He headed towards the sunset and we followed.

"Where are we going?" I inquired.

"To see my friends," Kristoff explained.

"The love experts?" Merida asked skeptically.

"Love experts?!" Olaf repeated in interest.

"Yes," said Kristoff, "And don't worry; they'll be able to fix this."

"How do you know?" Rapunzel asked.

He looked over at Anna and replied, "Because I've seen them do it before."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 _(Song in this chapter is "Fixer Upper" from the movie Frozen.)_

We were still hiking through the mountains, following Kristoff. Olaf was riding on Sven's back. Up above us, the Northern Lights were shining in the night sky. Even though Merida, Rapunzel, and I had given Anna our cloaks, she was shivering like mad and I was becoming worried.

"You still cold?" Kristoff asked with concern.

"A little," Anna admitted.

He reached out like he wanted to put an arm around her, but then pulled away. If I wasn't so worried about Anna, I would have thought that was very sweet.

"Wait. Come here," he said, taking her hand and pulling her to a steam vent in the ground. It was then that I noticed the lack of snow in the area. We all went over to warm up a bit.

"Oooh... That's nice," Anna said in thanks, then we continued on down the path, staying near the vents.

Kristoff took a deep breath and said, "So, about my friends... well, I say friends, they're more like family... Anyway, when I was a kid, it was just me and Sven... until they took me in."

"They did?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yeah," Kristoff said nervously, then began to ramble, "I don't want to scare you, they can be a little bit inappropriate... and loud... very loud... they're also stubborn at times, and a little overbearing. And heavy. Really, really heavy. But they're fine... You'll get it. They mean well."

"Kristoff, they sound wonderful," said Anna softly. He smiled at her.

"Okay then," said Kristoff stepping forward and gesturing to a bunch of large rocks, "Meet my family." To our astonishment, he started talking to them. "Hey, guys!"

"They're rocks," I said stating he obvious.

"He's crazy," Merida muttered.

Olaf was just as surprised as we were and said to us, "I'll distract them while you run. Hi, Sven's family! It's nice to meet you! Girls, because I love you, I insist you run. I understand you're love experts! Why aren't you running?"

I grabbed Anna's arm and the four of us slowly backed away. "Okay. Um... We're gonna go -"

Just then the rocks started rolling about on their own and unfolded themselves into some sort of creatures.

"Kristoff's home!" shouted out one of the rocks.

Many voices echoed her words.

"Kristoff!"

"Kristoff's home!"

"It's been too long!"

"Kristoff's home!"

Olaf was jumping around excitedly and shouted, "Kristoff's home!" He then paused and looked at the creatures confused, "Wait? Kristoff?"

We continued to stare, bewildered, as the creatures were all trying to get Kristoff's attention.

"Oh, lemme look at you!"

One troll tried to pull off his clothes. "Oh, take off your clothes, Kristoff; I wash them."

"Ah! No. I'm gonna keep my clothes on, thank you," said Kristoff, keeping his pants up, "Great to see you all. Where's Grand Pabbie?"

"He's napping. But look, I grew a mushroom."

"And I earned my fire crystal."

"I passed a kidney stone."

"Pick me up!" exclaimed one small rock, jumping into Kristoff's arms.

"Trolls?" Rapunzel finally said.

"They're trolls?" I repeated, continuing to stare at them.

The trolls became silent and turned to blink at us.

"He's brought girls!" a female troll shouted in excitement.

The cousins, Merida, and I were suddenly surrounded by the trolls. The picked us up and carried us to Kristoff.

"What's going on?" Merida asked.

"I've learned to just roll with it," Kristoff replied.

Anna tripped and fell into Kristoff's arms. This didn't escape the trolls' notice and they automatically began inspecting her.

"Let me see. Bright eyes. Working nose. Strong teeth. Yes, yes, yes. She'll do nicely for our Kristoff."

"Wait. Oh. Um. No," Anna said, becoming flustered.

"You've got the wrong idea. That's not why I brought her here," Kristoff quickly put in.

"Right. We're not. I'm not-" Anna began, but the trolls cut her off.

"What's the issue, dear? Why are you holding back from such a man?"

 _"Is it the clumpy way he walks?_

 _Or the grumpy way he talks?_

 _Or the pear shaped, square shaped weirdness of his feet?_

 _And though we know he washes well he_

 _Always ends up sorta smelly_

 _But you'll never meet a fella who's as_

 _Sensitive and sweet!_

 _So he's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _So he's got a few flaws -_

 _Like his peculiar brain, dear..._

 _His thing with the reindeer..._

 _That's a little outside of nature's laws!"_

"This is not about me!" Kristoff said, but he was ignored.

 _"So he's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _But this we're certain of_

 _You can fix this fixer upper up_

 _With a little bit of love!"_

"Can we just stop talking about this?! We've got a real, actual problem here," Merida piped up, interrupting the trolls' song, but they just continued.

 _"I'll say! So tell me, dear..._

 _Is it the way that he runs scared_

 _Or that he's socially impaired_

 _Or that he only likes to tinkle in the woods?"_

"I did not need to know that," I muttered.

 _"What?_

 _Are you holding back your fondness_

 _Due to his unmanly blondeness?_

 _Or the way he covers up that he's the honest goods?_

 _He's just a bit of a fixer upper_

 _He's got a couple a' bugs"_

"No, I don't!" Kristoff protested.

 _"His isolation_

 _Is confirmation_

 _Of his desperation for healing hugs!_

 _So he's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _But we know what to do_

 _The way to fix up this fixer upper_

 _Is to fix him up with you!"_

The girl trolls took us females away and began dressing us up in moss. The boys took Kristoff to do the same thing.

Kristoff, however, wasn't happy. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Enough! She's engaged to someone else. Okay?!"

The trolls were silent for a moment before continuing their song.

 _"So she's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _That's a minor thing_

 _Her quote 'engagement'_

 _Is a flex arrangement..._

 _And by the way, I don't see no ring_

 _So she's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _Her brain's a bit betwixt!_

 _Get the fiance_

 _Out of the way_

 _And the whole thing will be fixed!_

 _We're not saying you can change him_

 _'Cause people don't really change_

 _We're only saying that love's a force_

 _That's powerful and strange_

 _People make bad choices_

 _If they're mad or scared or stressed_

 _But throw a little love their way..._

 _And you'll bring out their best!_

 _True love brings out the best!_

 _Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper_

 _That's what it's all about!_

 _Father!_

 _Sister!_

 _Brother!_

 _We need each other_

 _To raise us up and round us out!_

 _Everyone' s a bit of a fixer upper_

 _But when push comes to shove..._

 _The only fixer upper fixer that can fix a fixer upper is..."_

Anna and Kristoff were pushed together underneath a stone arch.

 _"True!_

 _True!_

 _True, true, true!_

 _Love (True Love)!_

 _Love, love, love, love, love!_

 _Love (True Love)!_

 _T-rue..._

One troll stepped forward and said, "Do you, Anna, take Kristoff to be your trollfully wedded -"

"Wait, what?" all of us girls interrupted.

"You're getting married," the troll explained.

 _"Love!"_

Anna suddenly collapsed and Kristoff caught her. She was now shivering more than ever.

"Anna!" the girls and I exclaimed.

Kristoff pulled off her "wedding" gear. "She's as cold as ice."

Just then an elder troll pushed his way through the crowd, and stopped before us. "There's strange magic here!" he said.

"Grand Pabbie!" said Kristoff.

"Bring her to me, Kristoff," said Grand Pabbie and Kristoff helped Anna over. Grand Pabbie inspected her. "Anna, your life is in danger. There is ice in your heart, put there by your sister. If not removed, to solid ice will you freeze, forever."

Rapunzel and I gasped.

"What...? No," Anna weakly said.

"So remove it, Grand Pabbie," Kristoff begged.

"I can't," Grand Pabbie sadly replied, "If it was her head, that would be easy. But only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."

"An act of true love?" Anna repeated.

"A true love's kiss, perhaps?" one troll suggested.

Anna shivered once again, collapsing into Kristoff's arms. More of her hair turned white.

"Anna, we've got to get you back to Hans," Kristoff said.

"Ah -" I started to say, then stopped. Hans loving Anna? It was a possibility. Who was I to stand in the way of true love?

"Hans," Anna weakly said.

"Help us out, Sven," said Kristoff grabbing Sven's antlers. He helped Anna onto the reindeer's back before climbing on himself.

"Go on without us," I said, "We'll catch up."

Kristoff nodded and said, "Come on, Olaf!" Sven took off. Olaf grabbed Sven's tail, and rode with them.

"I'm coming!" Olaf exclaimed, "Let's go kiss Hans! Who is this Hans?!"

I ran down the path and the girls followed.

"How are we going to get to the castle?" Rapunzel gasped, "We don't have a ride! It could take us days to get there!"

"We're not going to the Arendelle castle," I panted out, "We're going to Elsa's ice palace! She has to know what happened to Anna!"

* * *

At dawn, Hans and his men tread cautiously towards the ice palace.

"We are here to find Princess Anna and her friends," said the Prince, jumping off Sitron, "Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the Queen. Do you understand?"

The Duke's thugs exchanged glances, while Flynn Rider narrowed his eyes at Hans. He had a feeling the Prince of the Southern Isles was up to something. Suddenly, a mass of snow rose from the ground behind Hans. It was Marshmallow, Elsa's snow monster.

"Go away!" Marshmallow roared, slamming a fist inches away from Hans. The Prince dodged out of the way. All of the men took up arms against Marshmallow, who quickly knocked them over. Marshmallow raised his foot to stomp on Hans, but Hans barrel-rolled himself to safety. The Prince jumped to his feet, with sword in hand.

The Duke's two thugs ran past the monster towards the ice palace.

Hans sliced off Marshmallow's leg with his sword. Hans took off running up the ice stairs. The snow monster stumbled, and fell off over the cliff, but not before striking the stairs. Hans slid over the edge, clinging to the ice steps with one hand.

As much as he didn't want to, Flynn helped Hans back up onto the stairs. Hans was startled and nodded his thanks. Flynn didn't say a word. All of the men then rushed up into the ice palace.

When the first two guards burst through the ice doors, Elsa turned and ran to the top floor of her palace. The guards in hot pursuit. They trapped her on the top floor, raising their crossbows.

"No. Please," Elsa begged in fright. One of the thugs shot an arrow right at Elsa. At the last moment she created an ice wall, stopping the arrow inches from her face. The thugs re-positioned themselves to take another shot. "Stay away!" she shouted, shooting ice at them. They ducked out of the way and continued to attack.

"Get her! Get her!"

Elsa was now fighting for her life. She was surrounded. In two swift movements, Elsa trapped one thug in a cage of spikes, and the other she pushed back with a wall of ice. He was shoved up against the balcony doors which burst open. He was now at the edge, inches away from falling to his death.

"Queen Elsa!" Hans shouted out, grabbing her attention, "Don't be the monster they fear you are."

Startled, she stopped and looked over at Hans and his men in fear. One of the Duke's thugs raised his crossbow at Elsa's back. Seeing this, Hans raced forward and pushed the crossbow up just as the arrow was released. The arrow struck the ice chandelier right above Elsa. The Queen dove out of the way as it came crashing down, and she fell, rendering herself unconscious.

"You could have killed her!" Flynn snapped at the Prince.

"I just _saved_ her life!" Hans replied coldly. He then moved forward and picked up Elsa in his arms. "Back to the castle," he commanded and all of the men followed him out of the ice palace, including the Duke's men, both looking a bit shaken.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

By the time we managed to get back to Elsa's ice palace, we were tired, out of breath, and sweaty despite the freezing air and lack of cloaks. We were just in time to see that there was an army ready to leave the palace, and I recognized the one in charge.

"Hans?!" I gasped out slowing down and hunching over to catch my breath. I stared up at him and the unconscious form in his arms. "What... happened... to Elsa?!"

"Aralyne," he said staring at me in surprise, "She got hurt and we're taking her back to the castle. What are you doing here? Where's Anna?"

"Also hurt," Merida replied, "This man named Kristoff was taking her back to the castle now. We came to tell Elsa about what happened."

"We don't have time to waste," said Flynn riding up to me and scooping me up onto his horse. I wrapped my arms around him and watched as Rapunzel and Merida were helped onto other horses with men.

Hans stared at me for a moment then led the group at a gallop back towards the Arendelle castle. We raced through the snow and in a couple of hours made it to our destination. After a quick scan, I didn't see any sign of Sven anywhere and wondered where Kristoff and the others were.

Looking over at Merida and Rapunzel, I could see they were thinking the same thing.

Hans jumped off Sitron with Elsa still in his arms, and left us in the stable, not saying a word. Something didn't feel right.

At that moment, all of my friends from Nesidy burst in and surrounded me, Flynn, Rapunzel, and Merida. In a matter of moments, they had dragged us into the castle to get some food and warm up by the fire in one of the guest bedrooms. I sat on the floor between Catherine and Danny while Merida and Rapunzel told them all what had happened. I wasn't listening. Instead, I stared out the window, hoping to see a sign of my missing friends.

* * *

Elsa's eyes fluttered open. She sat up to discover she was on a cot in the castle dungeon. She tried moving towards the nearby window, but found she had shackles around her hands, preveting her from moving very far. Straining to look out the window, she saw Arendelle was completely frozen with snow and ice still falling.

"No...What have I done?" she moaned in despair.

The dungeon's door opened, and in came Hans, hanging a torch beside the door frame.

"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded.

"I couldn't just let them kill you," he replied sitting beside her on the cot.

"But I'm a danger to Arendelle. Get Anna," said the Queen.

"Anna has not returned," he said. Elsa looked to the storm with worry. "If you would just stop the winter, bring back summer... please."

Elsa turned back to him. "Don't you see... I can't. You have to tell them to let me go."

Hans got up and walked back towards the door, taking he torch. "I will do what I can," he said leaving her alone.

Elsa's shackles began to freeze over.

* * *

Sven charged down the mountain with Kristoff and Anna on his back. Olaf was sliding along beside them on his stomach. Anna shivered in Kristoff's arms.

"Just hang in there," he said to her, then added to Sven, "Come on, buddy, faster!" They arrive at the walls of Arendelle.

Olaf slid past them, out of control and called out, "I'll meet you guys at the castle!"

"Stay out of sight, Olaf!" Kristoff ordered.

"I will!" replied the snowman. He disappeared into the village. "Hello!"

"It's alive!" a woman screamed.

Kristoff didn't have time to worry about that. Sven eventually skid to a halt outside the castle gates. Kristoff slid of the reindeer's back, and carried Anna up to them.

"I've got you," he said.

"Are you g-gonna be okay?" she said through chattering teeth.

"Don't worry about me," he reassured her.

Just then the castle gates opened. Gerda, Kai, and a handmaid rushed to help Anna.

"Anna! Oh, you had us worried sick," said Gerda.

"My Lady. You are freezing," Kai said with worry.

"You poor girl, you're freezing. Let's get you inside," Gerda insisted.

"Get her warm and find Prince Hans, immediately," Kristoff told them.

"We will. Thank you," said Kai as Anna was swept away from Kristoff and into the palace grounds.

"Make sure she's safe!" Kristoff called out to them, but he didn't know if they had heard. The castle gates had closed.

* * *

Hans stood in the library with the dignitaries and guards.

"I'm going back out to look for Princess Anna," the Prince said with determination.

"You cannot risk going out there again."

"If anything happens to her-" Hans began, but he was cut off.

"If anything happens to the Princess, you are all Arendelle has left."

Hans became silent. Was all of this really happening?

Just then the door opened and Gerda and Kai brought Anna in.

"He's in here. Prince Hans," Kai said.

"Anna," the Prince said rushing to her side. She fell into his arms. "You're so cold."

"Hans, you have to kiss me," she weakly said.

"What?" he replied, slightly alarmed.

"Now," she insisted, trying to kiss him, but he pulled away slightly.

"We'll give you two some privacy," said Gerda and everyone left the library, leaving the two of them alone.

* * *

I saw them! Right outside the window! Olaf, the goofball, vanished within the village, but Sven kept charging for the castle. I jumped to my feet.

"Huh?"

"Aralyne, are you okay?"

"What's going on?"

Without saying a word to my friends, I bolted out of the room, and raced through the castle. I had to see if Anna was okay; was going to be okay. To find her, I had to find Hans. I raced past a couple of servants and heard them mention that Hans was in the library with some dignitaries. Quickly changing course, I rushed towards my destination and arrived right as several people left the library. Hans and Anna were not among them.

Getting to the door, I opened it up a crack and peeked inside, trying to catch my breath. Anna and Hans were there, but didn't notice me.

"What happened out there?" Hans demanded.

"Elsa struck me with her powers," Anna replied weakly.

"You said she'd never hurt you," said the Prince.

"I was wrong," the Princess said, falling to the ground.

"Anna," said Hans picking her up and carrying her to the couch. He set her down there.

She was shivering again as she explained, "She froze my heart and only an act of true love can save me."

Understanding crossed his face. "A true love's kiss." He took her chin in his hand and gave her a tender smile. He leaned in slowly... gently... And then stopped. A sinister smile crossed his lips. "Oh, Anna. **If only there was someone out there who loved you."

I gasped.

"What?" Anna said in surprise as Hans stood up to shut the curtains on the window, "You said you did."

"You _bastard!_ " I shouted barging into the room, startling the occupants.

"Aralyne?" said Anna.

"So you heard everything?" Hans said, his eyes narrowing.

"How could you do this to her?!" I demanded storming right up to him. Being five-foot-one didn't make me very intimidating to a man that was at least six inches taller than me.

"It's not her I was after. It was _you_ ," he replied, suddenly grabbing me by the wrists.

"What are you talking about?" Anna inquired looking between the two of us.

"Aralyne is the one I love, and she left me for a _traitor!_ " he roared shaking me, "I came here because my Mistress told me to! She said if I helped destroy Arendelle then I can have Aralyne as a reward! Imagine my surprise when I see the Queen of Incantationen here. I was going to try and win you over at the ball, but then _he_ showed up and you ran off with _him_ again!"

 _He?_ "Tulio?" I said in confusion. _So it wasn't a dream?_

" _Don't say his name in front of me!_ "

"Your M-Mistress?" Anna stammered out. I had missed that part of Hans's little speech, being too distracted by the latter half.

"You wouldn't know her," Hans snarled at the Princess. He gazed directly into my eyes as he said the next sentence, "But _Aralyne_ does!"

It suddenly clicked. "Siren," I replied quietly, "But why would you work for her?"

"Weren't you listening? If I helped destroy Arendelle, I can have _you_ as a reward! Siren's ultimate goal is to prove you to be a terrible Queen that can't take care of your own kingdom! With everyone turning against you, she would be able to take over the world! I figured the best way to do my job was to stage a little accident for Elsa and Anna. But then Elsa doomed herself, and you were dumb enough to go after her with Anna and the others."

"But why mess with Anna's emotions?" I demanded.

"I was trying to make you _jealous!_ But I guess I was wrong!" He suddenly shoved me to the floor and I banged my head against a table's leg. I cried in pain, seeing stars pop up in my vision. "All that's left now is to kill Elsa and leave Arendelle without a ruler."

"You're no match for Elsa," Anna declared.

He knelt beside her and roughly took hold of her chin. "No, you're no match for Elsa. I, on the other hand, am the one who is going to leave Arendelle falling to destruction." He stood back up and headed for the door.

"You won't get away with this," I hissed out rising to my feet.

"Oh, I already have," he said shutting the door. I ran to open it, but found it locked.

I swore loudly until I heard Anna say, "Help." Turning, I saw the rest of her hair turn white and she crumpled to the floor.

"Anna," I said rushing to her side, "Come on. Let's get you warm." I managed to drag her to the fire, hoping it would help.

* * *

In the Council Chamber, the Duke of Weselton gazed out the window at the growing snowstorm. He rubbed his arms and shivered. "It's getting colder by the minute. If we don't do something soon, we'll all freeze to death."

At that moment, Hans came in, looking distraught.

"Prince Hans," said one of the dignitaries.

"Princess Anna is... dead," Hans said sadly.

Everyone in the room spoke at once.

"What...?"

"No..."

"Mon dieu."

"What happened to her?" the Duke inquired.

"She was killed by Queen Elsa," Hans replied.

"Her own sister," the Duke said horrified.

Hans added, "We never got say our marriage vows... before she died in my arms." He covered his face so that the others wouldn't see his sneer.

The Duke shook his head, saying, "There can be no doubt now; Queen Elsa is a monster and we are all in grave danger.

"Prince Hans, Arendelle looks to you," one of the dignitaries said.

Hans removed his hands, nodded and said, "With a heavy heart, I charge Queen Elsa of Arendelle with treason and sentence her to death."

Leaving the room, called for the nearest guards to follow him to the dungeon. The closer they got to their destination, the colder it became. Right as they threw the door open, there was a large _crash_ and they entered the dungeon cell to find the back wall had been blown open, broken shackles rested on the floor, and Elsa was missing. Hans glared at the raging storm outside.

* * *

Kristoff was headed back into the mountains, Sven lagging behind, not wanting to follow. The reindeer looked back at the kingdom, then shook his head, and ran into Kristoff's path snorting. Enough.

"What is it, buddy?" Kristoff asked, but Sven merely nudged him with his antlers. "Hey, watch it. What's wrong with you?" Sven snorted and brayed. "I don't understand you when you talk like that." Kristoff tried to walk on ahead, but Sven used his antlers to lift Kristoff off the ground. "Ah! Stop it! Put me down!" Sven dropped him hard then brayed at him once more. "No, Sven! We're not going back! She's with her true love." Sven gave him a skeptical look.

Just then the wind picked up. Kristoff looked back at the kingdom to see a violent winter storm swirling over the castle. Sharp ice made its way up the castle, encasing it.

"Anna."

Without hesitation, he raced back down the mountain. Sven caught up to him and Kristoff jumped onto his back.

 _(**My favourite scene from Frozen.)_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I was holding Anna as we sat by the fire and she was shivering in my arms. It was like holding a block of ice! Even I began to shake, despite the flame's heat. Looking around the library, I was horrified to see that ice was covering the ceiling.

"It's okay, Anna. Everything will be okay," I said rubbing her arms to get some warmth into them, "Someone will find us."

The door handle suddenly jiggled. "We're in here!" I called out, my heart pounding now. I just hoped it wasn't Hans again. The jiggling stopped and there was an audible _click_. The door swung open and to our surprise, a carrot was in the lock. Olaf stepped into the doorway, putting the carrot back on his face.

"Olaf?" I said in mild surprise.

Seeing Anna, he rushed to our side. "Anna! Oh no!"

"Olaf, get away from there," Anna said weakly as he stood next to the fire.

He didn't listen. "So, where's Hans? What happened to your kiss?" Olaf inquired.

"I was wrong about him. It wasn't true love," Anna replied and I growled.

"Huh. But we ran all the way here?" said Olaf in confusion.

"Please Olaf, you can't stay here; you'll melt," I said, but he still ignored the warning.

"I am not leaving here until we find some other act of true love to save you," Olaf insisted sitting beside us, "Do you happen to have any ideas?"

"I don't even know what love is," Anna said sadly.

"That's okay, I do," I replied quietly thinking of Tulio, "Love is... putting someone else's needs before yours, like how Kristoff brought you back here to Hans and left you forever." _Or when Tulio decided to work for Siren to save my life._

"Kristoff loves me?" Anna said in amazement.

"Wow, you really don't know anything about love, do you?" said Olaf, his face turning to slush.

"Olaf, you're melting!" Anna and I exclaimed in fear.

"Some people are worth melting for," said Olaf reassuringly, "Just maybe not right this second." The windows suddenly blew open, and a cold wind came in. "Don't worry, I've got it!" yelled the snowman rushing to the windows. He was no longer melting. While he was struggling with a panel he continued speaking, "We're going to get through- Oh, wait. Hang on. I'm getting something." He broke an icicle off the window, and used it as a telescope. "It's Kristoff and Sven! They're coming back this way."

"They-they are?" Anna stammered.

"Wow, he's really moving fast. Huh... I guess Aralyne was wrong. I guess Kristoff doesn't love you enough to leave you behind."

Anna tried to get to her feet. "Help me up. Please," she said and I assisted her.

"No, no, no, no, no. You need to stay by the fire and keep warm," said Olaf. I actually agreed with him, but I had a feeling as to what she was up to.

"I need to get to Kristoff," she said as we made it across the room to the door.

"Why...?" Olaf asked and we both gave him _uh-duh_ looks. "Oh, oh, oh, I know why!" He hopped around in excitement. "There's your act of true love, right there, riding across the fjords like a valiant, pungent reindeer king! Come on!" The walls cracked under the ice pressure.

"Look out!" I shouted practically yanking Anna out of the room right as the ceiling collapsed.

We slowly made our way down the hall, icicles growing and blocking our path.

"We're trapped," Olaf said.

I looked around for a way out. _The window!_ Releasing Anna for a moment, I slammed against it until it opened. The storm outside was strong, the wind breaking the panes off the window. The three of us slid down the ice-covered building, soon arriving at the bottom.

"Kristoff!" Anna weakly said. A part of me wanted to go out and look for him for her, but I couldn't leave her alone with just Olaf to watch over her! The wind suddenly lifted Olaf up and pulled him apart and blowing him away. Well, that made my decision for me. "Kristoff!"

* * *

As soon as Aralyne had disappeared, Alyss punched Danny Phantom on the arm.

"Ouch!" he said said rubbing his sore spot.

"Go after her!" Alyss said, "Make sure she doesn't end up in trouble."

"That would be a miracle," Flynn muttered.

Danny jumped up into the air and flew out of the room, but by that time, Aralyne had disappeared. He searched all of the nearby corridors and couldn't find her. Peering out one of the windows, he could see the storm had gotten much worse. _And knowing her, she's probably outside in it!_ He didn't want to go, but Aralyne's life could be in danger.

* * *

The Black Knight, just like everyone else, had gotten trapped in Arendelle during the snow storm. He wasn't even supposed to stay this long. He should have gone a long time ago, but Siren had insisted that he keep an eye on Hans to make sure the young prince didn't screw up the job.

After the first bit of snow had arrived, he had noticed that Aralyne had disappeared. Probably off trying to stop the storm, no doubt. But after a couple of days she didn't return. This storm was destroying Arendelle, so if Aralyne stopped it, the mission was a failure. Now the storm just kept getting worse.

The Black Knight was in his full armor watching the whole thing from the stables when he heard a voice shout out over the wind, "Aralyne!"

He turned towards the voice to see the Phantom flying through the storm. Pulling out his archery equipment, he shot an arrow into Danny's side. The ghost boy screamed in pain and pulled the arrow out of his body.

"What?!" Danny said in alarm.

The Black Knight stalked forward, this time unsheathing his sword and pointed it up at the Phantom. "Where's the Savior?" he demanded.

"Who are you?" Danny asked.

"I'm not going to ask again, boy! Where is the Savior?!"

"You mean Aralyne?"

"Tell me or I will make you suffer!"

* * *

Anna and I moved blindly across the fjord. I didn't say anything, but I was becoming terrified. Her hands had frosted over and were an icy blue. She stumbled and clutched her chest. The color in her eyes faded. I didn't think she was going to make it.

Looking around, I saw Elsa struggling through the storm, a dark shadow approaching her. I quickly realized it was Hans. He grabbed her attention and seemed to be talking to her, but over the howling wind, I couldn't make out what he was saying. Elsa dropped to her knees and the storm suddenly stopped. I was going to tell Anna about what I saw, but her attention was elsewhere.

"Kristoff," she whispered heading in one direction. I turned to see him running towards us, but he was still too far.

There was the sound of a sword being drawn, and we both looked towards Elsa. Hans was standing above her with his sword over his head, ready to strike.

"Elsa," Anna whispered. Forgetting about Kristoff, she suddenly broke away from me and ran towards her sister. Right as Hans was bringing his sword down, Anna jumped between him and Elsa, screaming, "No!" In that instant, Anna froze to solid ice. The sword struck her instead of Elsa, and was knocked out of Hans's hand. The force also sent the Prince flying backwards and knocked him out.

"No!" I shouted. I couldn't believe it! Anna was dead!

"Anna!" Elsa said in despair touching her sister's frozen face, "Oh, Anna...no...no, please no."

I turned my head, blinking back tears, and suddenly saw two figures fighting near the castle. Well, actually one was swinging a sword around, and the other was flying out of the way.

"Danny?" I said recognizing my friend's opponent. I quickly grabbed Hans's sword and rushed towards the ghost boy, jumping in between the two males. The Black Knight's sword clanged against mine.

"You," he said and I could detect a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Leave. Him. Alone!" I said, attacking with every word I spoke. The Black Knight blocked all of my moves, but didn't fight back.

To my astonishment, he suddenly turned and ran off. I wanted to go after him, but I had to check on Danny, and get back to the horrible scene behind me.

"Are you okay?" I inquired of my best friend as he landed beside me.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Danny said, "Where did you go?"

"I'll explain later," I promised, then rushed back to Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff. Danny followed closely behind.

Elsa was sobbing while she hugged Anna's frozen body. Kristoff watched in shocked despair. But then, the colour came back into Anna and she thawed out. I gasped in amazement. Anna leaned over and hugged Elsa.

"Wha-? Anna?" the Snow Queen said in shock. Anna smiled at her and they embraced.

"You sacrificed yourself for me?" Elsa asked.

"I love you," Anna replied quietly.

My mind drifted off to Tulio for a moment, and my heart ached. I quickly shoved the thought aside.

"An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart," Olaf said in realization.

"Love... will thaw..." Elsa said aloud, then smiled, "Love... Of course." She lifted her arms, and the ground shook. The ice and snow broke away and rose high into the air. Beneath our feet the bow of a ship thawed out. The entire fjord melted and other boats righted themselves. The villagers came out to see the warmth returning. In one final wave, Elsa made the snow vanish, leaving the warm summer day.

"I knew you could do it," I said with a smile.

"Hands down, this is the best day of my life... and quite possibly the last," said Olaf melting.

"Oh, Olaf. Hang on, little guy," said the Snow Queen creating a tiny storm cloud over the snowman. He quickly became solid again.

Nearby, Hans had come to and was climbing to his feet. I growled and started heading for him, but Anna held me back. She then walked up to him.

"Anna?" he said in confusion, "But she froze your heart."

"The only frozen heart around here is yours," she said coolly before punching him in the face. He flew over the side of the ship and landed in the water. The two sisters embraced again.

I rushed over to the side of the ship and glared down at Hans who floated in the water. "You're lucky she got to you before I did!" I yelled at him.

"Okay," said Danny pulling me back from the rail, "How about I get all of us off this ship?"

He took Kristoff and Sven first, then the sisters, and finally me and Olaf. When we returned to the castle, everyone surrounded us to know what happened, but I brushed them all aside and went to my guestroom for a well-deserved _long_ sleep.

* * *

The next day, I had slept until almost noon when Alyss and Catherine came bursting into my room, and jumped on my bed, startling me awake.

"Get up! Aralyne!"

"Wakey, wakey!"

I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head. "Lemme sleep."

"Nope!" said Catherine grabbing my pillow and hitting me with it. "We're leaving today!"

"Captain Amelia said we're heading out in an hour," Alyss added, "Come one! We'll help you pack!"

Blinking up at them, I scowled and sat up. "Jerks," I muttered.

As the girls packed my stuff away, I drowsily got out of bed and changed my clothes. My hair was a wild mess from sleeping and everything that had happened before that, but I didn't care. I just wanted to go back to bed. The sisters each grabbed one of my hands and carrying my bags, we left the room. Well, technically, they dragged me out of the room, through the castle, and out to the docks where we boarded Amelia's ship.

"Wow! She's practically dead on her feet," said Flynn in amusement.

"Shaddup," I muttered swaying back and forth.

We hadn't set out just yet so Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf were on board saying goodbye to us.

"Aralyne," said the Princess rushing towards me with Elsa in tow. They both embraced me at the same time. "Thanks for everything."

I gave them a weak smile. "It's my job. I can't wait to see you guys again." I also gave Olaf a hug, pet Sven, and shook Kristoff's hand. "You look after Anna," I told him.

The Arendelle residents finally left the ship and we started setting sail for Nesidy.

"So what happened to Hans?" Catherine asked and I scowled. I hadn't told anyone about what he had said in the library, and I don't think Anna told anyone either.

"He's being sent back to the Southern Isles," Flynn replied, "He's been banished from Arendelle permanently."

"Whatever," I muttered, "I'm going back to bed." As I turned to head below decks, something on shore caught my eye. I did a double take and stared open mouthed, now wide awake. Tulio was standing in the shadow of a building. Our gazes locked for a brief moment, and when I blinked, he was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Siren did not take the news of Hans's failure very well. Of course, she could have gone and punished him herself, but she thought it best if he continued to suffer through his familial abuse instead.

Now she was getting bored. She hadn't any real fun in such a long time. With an evil smile, she transported herself right outside Nesidy. There, she waved her hand and the earth shook before breaking open with eerie gray smoke. Out of the abyss crawled Wendy Darling's corpse, her blue dress and ribbon torn. Her eyes were pure white with black tears pouring down her cheeks. Dirt and maggots matted Wendy's brown curls.

"Hello, my little puppet," Siren leered placing a hand on the zombie's chest. There was the mark of when the villainess had murdered the girl long ago. Siren made a dagger materialize in her hand and handed it over to the zombie. "Have fun."

Zombie Wendy lurched over towards the city. Turning herself into a shadow, Siren followed her creation around and watched with delight as people screamed and ran for their lives.

* * *

We had been in Nesidy for only a day when the screaming began. I had been enjoying an early dinner with Alyss, Catherine, Danny, and Sam and at the first signs of distress, I sighed, putting down my fork.

"I'll check it out," said Danny shooting out of his chair, and vanishing. A moment later, he returned with Excalibur and handed it to me, a grim look on his face. "Zombie."

"What?" I said in surprise.

"Again?" Sam said.

"I thought Siren had stopped with the zombies?" Catherine said in confusion.

"Apparently not," said Alyss.

Us females shot to our feet and raced out of the Benbow Inn with Danny. Outside we could see many people running for safety, but very few running towards the danger, us included. We finally arrived to find _Wendy Darling_ as a creature of the undead. I skid to a halt and stared open-mouthed. Wendy had been dead for over a year, and I remember well how she died.

 _I saw Wendy Darling standing at the edge of a cliff near the beach and snuck up behind her. "It's dangerous out here," I said in a quiet cold voice._

 _Wendy swiveled around to see me. "Um, yes," she replied nervously, "I was just about to head back inside." She tried walking past me, but I had blocked her path._

 _"No, you're not," I replied taking a step towards the young girl, producing a dagger from my cloak and stabbing her. Wendy suddenly looked down to see my weapon embedded in her torso, my pale fingers wrapped around the hilt. "Goodbye,_ Darling _," I mocked yanking the dagger back out of Wendy. The young girl placed a hand over the wound, hot blood seeping through her fingers. I gave a maniacal laugh as I shoved Wendy over the edge of the cliff. Wendy didn't even get a chance to scream as she plummeted to the ocean._

That was way back when Siren had first emerged and she and I were fighting for control over my body. Shaking my head, I rushed forward with Excalibur, ready to kill the zombie.

Silver Mist, Tinker Bell, and the Blue Fairy all flew by towards Zombie Wendy. Fairy magic! Surely that would help us defeat the zombie, and a lot faster than normal, too! But alas, no. With unnaturally fast reflexes, Wendy had sliced off Tink's wings, as well as made a few slashes at the fairy's legs, and chopped off her left arm. Tinker Bell screamed and fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Tink! No!" said Silver Mist changing course.

The Blue Fairy kept going, but then Wendy grabbed the Blue Fairy by the wrist and bit a chunk out of her arm. The Blue Fairy cried out in pain and the change was instantaneous. Sections of the Blue Fairy's hair turned white, her skin became gray, and her eyes were now a milky white. The fairy smiled, blood dripping from her lips.

"Oh shit," I muttered coming to another halt. We were going to lose this fight. I just knew it!

The Zombie Blue Fairy pointed her wand at Silver Mist and shot out a black light at her fellow magical sister. Silver Mist also turned into an ice creature much like Kida had done a few months ago. Silver's eyes also turned an eerie white, and her skin turned a deathly gray. Icicles protruded on her shoulders, wings, and her hands turned into ice.

"What are we going to do about zombie _fairies?!_ " Sam demanded.

I shook my head. I didn't know. This was going to be like dealing with the Gods under Siren's control. Off to the side, I saw a couple of children run for cover, but they weren't fast enough. With another wave of her wand, the Blue Fairy struck Pinocchio with a black light. The child fell over with a cry of pain and writhed on the ground before coming still. He slowly stood up, and to my horror, I saw he had turned back into a puppet, one eye missing, while the other looked demented. His mouth opened into a lopsided smile.

"Want to play?" he said in a creepy high-pitched tone. He grabbed Fern (from _Charlotte's Web_ ) by the collar of her shirt. She screamed in fear, but it was quickly cut off when Pinocchio reached into her chest and pulled out her heart. The organ pumped out whatever little blood it still had left. Pinocchio ate the heart, dropping the body.

My mouth dropped open in horror, and I hunched over, throwing up the steak and potatoes I had eaten just moments before.

"Any ideas?" Danny inquired of me.

Wiping my mouth I said, "You handle the Blue Fairy. Take away her wand. Destroy it, actually. Without her magic, she's just a zombie. Sam, you take care of Silver Mist. Don't let her touch you. Be careful! Alyss and Catherine, you fight Wendy. I'll take Pinocchio." They all nodded and ran off in different directions.

When I had turned my attention back towards the zombie puppet, I found he had gotten to young Alice. A bloody chunk was missing from her neck and she had already turned into a zombie. Her eyes were now glowing a dark purple, producing black tears. Dark blood was dripping from her lips as she moved down the street. _Damn!_ Well, one zombie at at time.

It was then that Adam (the Beast), Phoebus, Aladdin, Grandpa, Jake, Esmeralda and Djali had arrived to help fight the undead, and I was grateful for that. I went back towards Pinocchio and sliced at him with Excalibur. The sword went right through his head and it landed a bit to his left. I had expected him to collapse, now dead, or explode into dust, but he didn't. Instead, the body simply turned, grabbed its head and placed it back on its neck. _What?!_ His demented eye focused on me.

"Want to play, Aralyne?" Zombie Pinocchio said walking towards me, his arms outstretched. I chopped off his left arm, and he picked it up, returning it to its proper place. "Want to play, Aralyne?" _He wasn't dying!_ With another slice, his right arm went flying. I just kept at it until he was in a myriad of pieces about me. The only things intact were his his chest and his left arm. His head was to the side, still gazing at me, and the top portion of his body suddenly started crawling my way. "Want to play, Aralyne?" Horrified, I backed up and tripped over one of his legs. I went crashing to the ground.

In a daze, I looked around to see that Djali had been turned into a zombie by Alice. Stupid animal had tried taking a bite out of her. And now he had turned on Esmeralda. Feeling something crawling on me, I returned my attention before me and screamed. Pinocchio's arm and chest had caught up to me and was on my legs. His other arm had managed to get onto my torso and grasped my shirt.

"Want to play, Aralyne?"

I shoved the zombie body parts off me and scrambled to my feet with a shiver. What was I going to do? No matter how many times I attacked Pinocchio, he wouldn't die! I took off running, checking to make sure I got a good distance between me and the zombie puppet. I faced forward in time to slam into Esmeralda. Once again, I fell over, and when I looked up to apologize, I gasped. She had been turned into a zombie!

Esmeralda's flesh was now rotting, especially on her left arm and the side of her face. Her left eye was missing, and blood was pouring from her lips. Before I could move, she had leaned over and grasped my shirt, lifting me up to her face. Her mouth opened to take a bite out of my neck. And that's when Danny appeared. He shot Esmeralda with a ghost ray and she exploded.

"Thanks, Danny," I gasped out in relief.

"We're having a problem," he said, "The Blue Fairy and Silver Mist aren't dying. I've hit them with everything I've got, and they're not burning from the dragons' fire either."

"Same with Pinocchio," I replied, looking around. Phoebus had just killed Djali, the zombie goat exploding into dust. "I've sliced him multiple times and he just won't die. We're just going to have to keep fighting."

At that moment, zombie Wendy lurched for Catherine and she was trapped against a building. Wendy's dagger was held high, ready to strike. There was a flash of fur and Adam was suddenly between them. The dagger penetrated him in the chest and he roared. With his massive paw, he swatted at Wendy, sending the zombie flying backwards. Adam pulled the dagger out of his chest and dropped it before collapsing to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head.

" _No!_ " Catherine screamed. She grabbed the dagger and rounded on Wendy. Before the zombie could even defend herself, Catherine rushed forward and plunged the dagger into Wendy's chest. The zombie exploded into dust. Now that just left Silver Mist, the Blue Fairy, and Pinocchio.

To my surprise, Catherine was crying when she returned to the Beast's side. He stared at her and I was afraid we had lost another soul. "You saved me," she said.

"Of course I saved you," he said weakly, "I couldn't let her kill you... Maybe it's better this way."

"Don't talk like that," she scolded, "You'll be all right. We're together now. Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

"At least I got to see you one... last...time," he said reaching up and touching her cheek. I continued to stare in slight bewilderment and then his paw dropped, his head falling back, and his eyes closing.

Catherine was now sobbing. "No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me! I love you!"

"She _what?!_ " I blurted out.

"They've been seeing each other," Alyss said when she and Sam joined me and Danny. The Dragons and Phoebus were still trying to kill the other zombies.

Guilt gnawed away at me. Over the past three months, I had been so focused on my own heartache, that I didn't even notice that one of my best friends had been in love. And now she was lost him!

Tears stung my eyes, but then a fog engulfed the Beast. Startled, Catherine scuttled backwards as Adam's body rose into the air, and glowed a golden light. To our amazement, we watched his body started changing form. His claws turned into fingers, his hind paws became feet, his fur vanished, and was now a young man. His body slowly drifted back to the ground and the fog disappeared. Catherine slowly reached out to touch him, but jerked her hand back when he moved. Adam stood, gazing down upon himself in wonder before turning to Catherine.

We all continued to gape at him.

"Catherine! It's me!" he said.

She slowly stood up and gazed at him. "It is you!" She threw her arms around him and they kissed.

The four of us looked away to give them a bit of privacy.

"Danny, go help the dragons and Phoebus," I said to the ghost boy, "We need to stop the rest of the zombies." He nodded and flew off.

"What are we going to do if we can't kill them?" Alyss inquired.

I sighed. "I don't -" My gaze landed upon a dark figure standing in the shadows not far from us. A figure wearing nothing but black armor. He turned and took off running. Leaving Sam and Alyss, I chased after the Black Knight. He wasn't going to get away from me this time.

We had gotten to the forest, and I wasn't even sure he knew I was following him. With Excalibur still in hand, I used the sword's magic to animate the trees so that they grabbed the Black Knight and pinned him against the trunk.

"What?" he said in surprise, trying to shove the branches away, but they wouldn't budge.

"It's over, Black Knight. Say goodbye!" I yelled raising my sword.

He stopped moving and shouted out, "Aralyne, no!"

I froze. "W-What did you call me?"

"Aralyne. If you want to say goodbye, say it to my face," he said. He took off his helmet and dropped it to the ground with a _clatter_. "Aralyne, it's me."

"Tulio," I said in quiet disbelief. _He_ had been the one hunting unicorns! _He's_ the one I had been fighting all this time! Frowning, I screamed in frustration and sliced the tree branches holding him, before taking off running.

"Aralyne, wait!" he called after me, but I ignored him.

* * *

Swearing, Tulio placed the helmet back on his head, and ran after Aralyne. Within moments, they had returned to the zombie fight, but he remained hidden behind a building, watching everything.

"Where did you go?" Sam asked Aralyne.

"Nowhere. It was nothing," she snapped. Sam was startled, but didn't say any more.

Looking around, Tulio then saw a shadow nearby, and coming from the darkness was familiar laughter.

"Siren," he said moving closer to the shadow. She transformed back into a human, still laughing.

"Hello, Tulio. Enjoying the show?"

"Call off the zombies," he said.

Her laughter died and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you ordering me about? A dangerous move, Tulio."

"I'm not ordering you to do anything," he replied, "It's a request. I have a plan to kill Aralyne..."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

 _(Song in this chapter is "Upendi" from the movie The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.)_

After Tulio had explained his plan, Siren smiled maliciously. "That is _evil!_ " she said in delight, "You really know how to destroy her, don't you?" With an evil laugh, she transported the two of them to the top of a hill that overlooked Nesidy, and made Hephaestus materialize. The god was still under her control. They waited for a couple of minutes, and then they spotted Aralyne angrily marching through the woods, just like Tulio had predicted.

"Hephaestus, burn down the forest," Siren ordered. The god raised a hand and blasted a clump of nearby trees with flames.

* * *

The zombies vanished so unexpectedly, and the others looked around in surprise.

"Where did they go?" Catherine said aloud.

"Who cares?" I muttered angrily, stabbing the ground so that Excalibur stood straight up. The shock of seeing Tulio as one of my enemies had put me on edge.

"Aralyne, are you okay?" Danny inquired with concern.

"Fine," I snapped, then stormed off without another word. The sun was just beginning to set so I still had plenty of light to walk by as I headed out of Nesidy and entered the woods.

 _Why?! Why was he doing this to me?! Why was he messing with my emotions like this?!_ Tears of frustration were now pouring down my face. My sight was blurry so I stopped to wipe my eyes dry with the hem of my shirt.

And then I felt the earth shake a bit. I froze, now on high alert. An entire herd of unicorns galloped my way, and I dodged out of the path to avoid being impaled. Other forest creatures ran past, the lot of them looking terrified.

 _What?_ The acrid stench of smoke reached my nostrils and I started coughing. Looking up, I saw a fire burning on the horizon, and it was quickly spreading. I had to return to Nesidy and get some help! Turning from the fire, I sprinted back towards Nesidy, but the fire moved at an incredible speed. I soon found myself trapped, the flames surrounding me on every side. The smoke was thick, choking me. The heat singed my clothes, and I was sweating. I couldn't see, or think. I couldn't breathe! My knees hit the ground, and I passed out...

* * *

Tulio, Siren, and Hephaestus watched the whole thing from the hill. The god had controlled the fire so that it targeted Aralyne and trapped her.

"Your plan is in motion," said Siren, "Go!"

Tulio raced down the slope towards the forest fire. As he had planned, Hephaestus had left a gap open in the flames to allow him to get through to Aralyne. He loomed over her, and removed his helmet, letting it fall to the ground. The _clatter_ woke her up for a moment, and she looked at him before losing consciousness again. Tulio lifted her up into his arms and took off running away from the fire. When he was far enough away, he glanced back to see the flames had vanished, thanks to the god, but when he faced forward, he tripped and fell into a pond, losing his hold on Aralyne. They both began to sink. Swearing, Tulio quickly removed the rest of his armor, and allowed it to float to the bottom. He then dove after Aralyne and pulled her back up, dragging her to the shore. When he placed her on the bank, she gasped.

* * *

I rolled over onto my stomach and coughed. Water poured out of my nose and mouth.

"Where am I?" I panted.

"You're safe," said a familiar voice, and I looked up at Tulio. His Black Knight armor was missing and he placed a hand on my back.

I stared at him, not believing this. Pulling away from his touch I said, "Go away."

"I just saved your life!" he protested.

Looking around, I noticed that the fire had vanished. Something didn't feel right. "Look, just leave me alone," I said getting to my feet, water dripping from my hair and clothes.

"Aralyne!"

I looked up to see Danny, Grandpa, and Jake flying towards me. Danny was holding Sam, Jake held Alyss on his back, and Grandpa was holding Catherine and Adam and when they landed at my side, they all stared at Tulio.

"Tulio," said Grandpa in surprise.

"What's going on?" Alyss inquired.

I shrugged and turned my back on Tulio.

"I humbly ask to return to Nesidy," Tulio said. I noticed he had left out he had saved me from the fire that had so mysteriously disappeared. My feelings of unease grew.

"No!" I snapped rounding on him and surprising the others. Yeah, I know I had spent time mooning over him and trying to create a portal to him, but now, I didn't know what was going on and I was scared. "You had made your choice months ago! You chose to join the villains! You chose to be with _her_ over - over me!" My voice cracked on the penultimate word, and I had to blink back tears.

"I have left Siren," he replied, "I am a rogue. Judge me now, for what I am... or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit?" He gave me a knowing look.

Could I pin a crime on him? No. I wasn't aware of what he did and didn't do while he was gone. I had stopped him from hunting the unicorns, but he didn't harm them. I had also stopped him from fighting Danny, but I was the only one to know about that. The only crime I could think of was his abandonment, but it wasn't serious.

I couldn't accuse him of anything and he knew it. I scowled and turned away from him once more.

"Young one, you are Queen. The choice is up to you," said Grandpa as everyone watched the whole scene in silence.

I opened my mouth to firmly proclaim my answer, but then Tulio moved closer until I felt him right behind me. He breathed into my ear, "Aralyne... you owe me your life."

"Ah -" Clearly I was in his debt... and protocol demands that all debts be paid. "Fine. Whatever," I growled pulling away from him and moving closer to Danny and Sam. "For now, I reserve judgment." _We'll see who you really are_.

Now with so many of us, we couldn't fly back to Nesidy, so we walked, Grandpa and Jake turning back into their human forms. I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to walk near Tulio by keeping at least three people between us.

"Aralyne, is everything all right?" Danny asked sidling up beside me.

"Fine," I grumbled as we finally entered Nesidy.

"No it's not," said Catherine on the other side of me. She and Adam were holding hands, and beyond them were Alyss and Tulio. "Something's obviously up." She grabbed me and shoved me past her sister. I tripped over a cobblestone, and would have fallen if Tulio hadn't caught me. "Talk to him!" Catherine hissed.

Every single one of my friends quickly took off, leaving me alone with him. Sometimes I really hated them.

I quickly pulled away from him.

He frowned at me. "What is your problem?"

"What is _yours?!_ " I demanded. "First you join Siren, _leaving_ me! Then you show up in my dreams warning me about Siren! I caught you trying to hunt unicorns, but then you show up at the ball and we spend a wonderful night together!" Now tears were streaming from my eyes and I was aware of people stopping to watch the scene. I could also hear murmurs of them saying Tulio was back. I didn't care about them. I didn't care what they thought or said, anymore. "You were fighting Danny, and I saw you during the zombie attack, and then you saved me!"

He nervously looked around at everyone, then grabbed my hand. "Do you trust me?"

I wanted to say yes, but I also wanted to say no. Did I trust him? Way deep down, the answer was yes. I trusted him more than anyone else. I trusted him with my life! Slowly, I nodded.

"Come with me," he said and dragged me through the town. We eventually came to the beach where we had some privacy away from everyone else.

Well, almost everyone else. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see five people watching us from a distance. One of them ran off and shortly returned with a sixth.

We sat down on a couple of boulders, facing the sea, the stars shining up above us. For a moment we sat in silence, his hand still in mine.

"Uh, thanks for saving me today," I finally sniffled out, wiping my eyes dry. "And I'm sorry for everything I said today. I'm just afraid, and confused. I don't want to lose you again."

"I understand," he replied, "I haven't done anything lately that deserves your trust."

"And..." I felt myself blush as I said the next sentence, "I'm sorry for everything I had said to you after the Ember incident. I didn't mean a word of it."

"I know," he said in amusement, "In fact, there would be no need to apologize if you had your memories. But that no longer matters. Your feelings are still there."

I blushed even more. "Tell me how we met? The first time?"

Tulio laughed. "That wasn't a very romantic or eventful meeting, if that's what you're thinking."

"I still want to know," I insisted.

"It was right after you came back with Sinbad," he said and I flinched. Sinbad had died when Siren and I were fighting for control over my body. "My friends and I had gone over to greet him and you were there. Flynn tried flirting with you, but you laughed in his face. Then you turned and faced me. Neither one of us said a word and then you ran off with Jim and Melody." Okay, so he was right. Not eventful in the least. "I did help save you from Tzekel-Kan and Eric, and after that we just had many adventures together." He got quiet, but I wanted to know more.

"And then what?" I prompted.

" _Things_ happened," he grunted as an answer, and I glanced up at him in mild surprise. He was staring out over the water, a bit of a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"Tulio..."

"It's just that... these past three months I've been trained to..." He stopped and sighed. "Nothing. I gotta go." He released my hand and got off the boulder.

"Tulio- wait," I quietly called out, staring after him, feeling sad. He paused for a moment, and glanced back at me before looking away and moving on.

Rafiki suddenly appeared, pointing a finger in Tulio's face. "And _where_ are you going?"

"Nuhh... nowhere," Tulio said trying to walk around the baboon.

"That's what you think!" Rafiki said blocking his path once again.

"What's he doing here?" Tulio murmured to me when I had slid off the boulder and joined him.

"No idea," I replied, also curious.

The baboon had grabbed both of our hands and said, "Come on! You follow old Rafiki; he knows the way!"

"The way where?" Tulio said hesitantly, pulling his hand free.

"You follow- you'll see! Hurry now!" Rafiki insisted dragging me down the beach.

"Tulio, c'mon!" I said with a giggle. He followed us, if reluctantly.

"Where's he taking us?" Tulio hissed as we made our way down the beach.

We came to a sudden halt at a lagoon with a beautiful waterfall. I have spent over a year in Nesidy and never once came across this area before. It was beautiful.

"To a special place in your heart... called Upendi!" Rafiki exclaimed grabbing Tulio. He had us face each other and shoved me into Tulio's arms, causing me to blush.

 _"There's a place where the crazy moon_

 _Makes the monkeys sing and the baboons swoon_

 _And the sultry scent of the lotus bloom_

 _Will carry you away"_

As Rafiki led us around the lagoon, he picked a white daisy and handed it to Tulio. Tulio then turned and tucked it into my hair, before caressing my cheek.

 _"Where the hippos swing from the jungle vines_

 _And the rhino rumba in a conga line_

 _And the pink flamingos are intertwined_

 _As the stars come out to play_

 _In Upendi_

 _Where the passion fruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

 _In Upendi_

 _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 _Your heart will lead you there"_

Rafiki had taken us up to the top of the waterfall.

"Where is it?" I inquired.

"No place you don't take with you..." he said with a sneaky smile before shoving me and Tulio into the water. Tulio held on to me as we fell over the edge into the lagoon.

 _"You better watch your step 'cause the path is steep_

 _Better hold your breath cause the water's deep_

 _It's a long way down over Lovers' Leap_

 _But falling's half the fun!"_

After we landed in the water, Tulio found a giant log floating around, and pulled us up onto it. The daisy I had disappeared, and my hair was now a stringy mess. Brushing it out of my face, I laughed, and so did Tulio.

 _"In Upendi_

 _Where the passion fruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

 _In Upendi_

 _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 _Your heart will take you there"_

I leaned forward to give Tulio a kiss on the cheek, but at the last second, he turned his head, and his lips connected with mine.

"Nice try, Princess," he said with a chuckle. I blushed. He had never called me that before.

 _"You can beat the bush like there's no tomorrow_

 _From Tanganyika to Kilimanjaro_

 _But you'll find Upendi wherever you are_

 _Oh underneath the sun"_

"Upendi- it means _love_ , doesn't it?" I asked Rafiki.

"Welcome to Upendi!" the baboon crowed.

 _"In Upendi_

 _Where the passion fruit grows sweet_

 _And it's so divine_

 _That you lose your mind_

 _As it sweeps you off your feet_

 _In Upendi_

 _Without a worry or a care_

 _It just takes two_

 _To make it true_

 _Your heart will take you there"_

Taking my hand once more, Tulio and I jumped off the log and swam for the shore, still laughing.

 _"Upendi!_

 _Down In Upendi_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!_

 _Way down_

 _In Upendi!"_

Once we reached the shore, Rafiki had disappeared, as did the five others that had been watching us.

Tulio led me back into the city, stopping right outside the Benbow Inn.

"Good night, Tulio," I said, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Sleep well, Princess," he replied. He gently lifted my head with a finger, and swooped down, giving me one final kiss for the night.

When I pulled away, I entered the inn, peered back at him one last time, before shutting the door. With a squeal of joy, I raced up to my room, throwing the door open, startling Alyss and Catherine. I jumped onto their bed and wrapped them up in a hug.

"Thanks for sending Rafiki! You guys are the best!"

"We have no idea what you're talking about," said Catherine with a sly smile.

* * *

"He didn't kill her," Hephaestus said. He and Siren were still standing on the hill overlooking Nesidy, and had seen the whole thing.

"Hush. The fire-rescue worked perfectly, and Aralyne fell for it," Siren replied in delight, "Now, the closer Tulio gets to her, the more she will trust him! And once she does that, he'll break her heart before killing her, much like what Eric did." She laughed maniacally into the night.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

 _(Songs in this chapter are "Be Prepared" - with a few alterations - from the movie The Lion King, and "Love" from the Disney movie Robin Hood.)_

Siren had returned to her castle, leaving Hephaestus in hiding with the other gods. The villains still didn't know she had them under her power. All of her followers were in the throne room waiting for her.

"You're in a good mood," Jafar mused, watching the villainess.

Siren grinned maliciously.

 _"I never thought minions essential.  
They're crude and unspeakably plain.  
But maybe they've a glimmer of potential  
If allied to my vision and brain._

 _I know that your powers of retention  
Are as wet as a warthog's backside  
But thick as you are, pay attention_

 _My words are a matter of pride_

 _It's clear from your vacant expressions  
The lights are not all on upstairs  
But we're talking queens and successions  
Even you can't be caught unawares _

_So prepare for a chance of a lifetime  
Be prepared for sensational news  
A shining new era  
Is tiptoeing nearer"_

"And where do we feature?" demanded Shego.

"Just listen to teacher," Siren instructed.

 _"I know it sounds sordid  
But you'll be rewarded  
When at last I am given my dues  
And injustice deliciously squared _

_Be prepared!"_

"Yeah, Be prepared. Yeah-heh... we'll be prepared, heh. ...For what?" asked LeFou.

"For the death of the Queen," Siren simply said.

"Why? Is she sick?" asked Eric.

"No, fool- we're going to kill her. And others too," Siren said with an evil smile.

"Great idea! Who needs a queen?" crowed Prince John.

Shenzi and Banzai both yelled out, "No queen! No queen! la-la-la-la-laa-laa!"

"Idiots! There will be a queen!" Siren growled out.

"Hey, but you said, uh..." LeFou began, but Siren cut him off.

" _I_ will be queen! Stick with me and you'll never lose a fight again!" Siren declared.

"Yaay! All right! Long live the queen!" cheered the hyenas. "Long live the queen! Long live the queen!"

 _"It's great that we'll soon be connected.  
With a queen who'll be all-time adored."_

Siren laughed at their praise, feeling on top of the world.

 _"Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected  
To take certain duties on board  
The future is littered with prizes  
And though I'm the main addressee  
The point that I must emphasize is  
You won't get a sniff without me!_

 _So prepare for the coup of the century  
(Oooh!)  
Be prepared for the murkiest scam  
(Oooh... La! La! La!)  
Meticulous planning  
(We'll have food!)  
Tenacity spanning  
(Lots of food)  
Decades of denial  
(We repeat)  
Is simply why I'll  
(Endless meat)  
Be queen undisputed  
(Aaaaaaah...)  
Respected, saluted  
(...aaaaaaah...)  
And seen for the wonder I am  
(...aaaaaaah!) _

_Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared  
(Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo)  
Be prepared! _

_Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared  
Be prepared!"_

All of the villains laughed, their voices echoing off the walls of the castle.

* * *

Catherine was to spend the entire day with Adam, and Alyss was going to go work in the library. That left an entire day to myself. I didn't know what to do, so I guess I decided to patrol the town and the area around to make sure everything was okay. All inside Nesidy was perfectly fine, so I made my way around the beach and into the forest. For a moment I was curious as to what happened to the fire from the previous day, but when I got to that area, all of the trees were perfect as if the fire had never existed. Whatever bad feelings I had about it before all came back to me. I just couldn't figure what was going on.

With an irritated sigh, I went back to patrolling the forest, and it wasn't long until I came across Tulio standing near the same pond as yesterday, and the unicorns were back. At first I watched as his hand twitched towards his dagger. I became nervous. What if he was going to hunt the unicorns like he had originally planned?

With an idea in mind, I snuck up on him and jumped before him. "G'morning!" I exclaimed, startling him.

"Aralyne," he said, "What are you doing here?"

"My job," I replied, and giggled. "Surprised ya, huh?"

Tulio laughed. "Not so much, Princess." There was that nickname again. I blushed, but enjoyed it.

"Liar," I replied nudging him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Just thinking," he replied, looking back at the unicorns. I followed his gaze, and dropped my playful attitude.

"You're not going to hurt them, are you?" I quietly asked.

"No," he said giving me a small smile. "Before, Siren had asked for the horns. I don't know why she wanted them, but she did. Then you came along and I never got around to it."

"That's in the past," I said, then grabbed his hand. "Hey, c'mon. Let's go!"

"Where are we going?" he asked when I dragged him through the forest.

"To find something to do!" I said. We ran through the trees, laughing. When we reached a hill, we almost slammed into Timon and Pumbaa and skid to a halt. "Timon! What are you doing here?" I asked in mild surprise.

"Aralyne! This just happens to be the best smorgasbord in the area. Bugs everywhere!" Timon said motioning to a field of bugs with a flock of birds eating contentedly. "But, you don't call for a reservation, and- yeesh!" He turned to the birds and waved his arms at them. "Get outta here, ya scavengers. Go on! Shoo! Shoo!"

Pumbaa was rushing back and forth, yelling. The birds kept scattering for a moment, but always returned to where they were before. Some landed on the warthog, and he stopped in exhaustion.

"Ohh... Timon, I'm getting tired. I gotta lose some pounds!" Pumbaa moaned.

I giggled and Tulio coughed to hide his laugh.

"Shoo! Go on! Shoo! Shoo!" Timon shouted, scaring the birds off Pumbaa.

"Hey! Maybe they can help. Ya think?" Pumbaa suggested nodding in our direction.

"Oh! Yeah... there's an idea. Right. Let the humans- Hey! Wait! I have an idea! What if they help?" Timon repeated as if he came up with the idea.

"What?" Pumbaa said.

"You wanna lend a hand? Huh? Work with me!" Timon said to Tulio and me.

I shrugged and waved at the birds. "Shoo! Shoo!" Some took off and didn't come back. The rest remained where they were.

"Wooo hoo! C'mon, do it again! Do it again!" Timon said in excitement.

"I have an idea," said Tulio. Still holding my hand, we raced through the birds, and they all flew away. Timon and Pumbaa jumped for the bugs, but Tulio and I kept running.

"Thanks!" Pumbaa shouted after us.

We laughed as we raced through the forest, going around Nesidy instead of through it, and ended up at the beach. There, Tulio pulled me behind a boulder, and stopped so that I slammed into his chest. He then cupped my face and kissed me. I melted into the kiss. When we pulled apart, he caressed my cheek with his thumb.

"Come on. I wanted to go back to the lagoon," he said, leading me down the beach. We soon returned to the hidden lagoon.

We walked around the waterfall for a moment until we came upon some stepping stones leading to a bank on the opposite end where the lagoon was much deeper. I hopped across the stones with Tulio right behind me. When we reached the bank, we sat at the edge of the pool, taking off our shoes to let our feet soak in the water.

"I remember at one point, _I_ was the one to get you to have fun," he replied casually, leaning back.

"Yeah right," I scoffed, "I know how to have fun."

"Oh really?" he said with a secretive smile, taking off his shirt. My eyes widened as I stared at his chest. He got to his feet and ran off for a moment. He returned with a vine in his hands. Holding onto it, he swung out over the lagoon and released the vine, landing in the water with a large splash. A few droplets sprayed me, and I shrieked with laughter.

After a few seconds, he didn't return to the surface, and I just stared down into the water, not able to see him. "You better be okay, 'cause I'm not going in after you," I called out. There was no reply. Without warning, he shot out of the water, and grabbed hold of my waist, pulling me into the lagoon after him. Under the water he grinned at me and I pulled away from him, glaring. I swam up to the surface and pulled myself back onto the bank. Thankfully I had decided to put my hair in a ponytail, so that wasn't much of a problem. On the down side, I was wearing a white shirt with a short blue skirt. _Great!_ Tulio was laughing when he followed me onto the bank.

"Jerk," I muttered, shoving him back into the water.

"I thought you said you know how to have fun," he said with a teasing smile, floating in the water. I made a face at him, removing my shirt and skirt so that I was in my underwear and bra. Setting those aside to dry, I jumped right back into the water.

When I was in high school, I remember boys staring at me when I went swimming in my bikini, because, well I wouldn't say I have a "hot" body as defined by society; I had a bit of pudge in some areas, but I wasn't bad either. With Tulio, it surprised me that he didn't gawk like the others did. No, he did one scan and grinned, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me close. My bare skin tingled at his touch, and my heart was thrumming.

 _"Love It seems like only yesterday_

 _You were just a child at play_

 _Now you're all grown up_

 _Inside of me_

 _Oh, how fast those moments flee_

 _Once we watched a lazy world go by_

 _Now the days seem to fly_

 _Life is brief_

 _But when it's gone_

 _Love goes on and on_

 _Love will live_

 _Love will last_

 _Love goes on_

 _And on and on"_

We kissed, his hands remaining firmly in place, whereas mine slid up his torso and around his neck. I never wanted this moment to end.

 _"Once we watched a lazy world go by_

 _Now the days seem to fly_

 _Life is brief_

 _But when it's gone_

 _Love goes on and on"_

After a while, we broke a part and swam around the lagoon, occasionally splashing each other, and I dunked him twice. And no, we didn't do anything beyond kissing. I just didn't think I was ready for _that_ yet.

Once we had gotten tired, we climbed back out of the lagoon and I put my clothes back on, while donned on his shirt. His pants were still soaked, and it didn't help that my bra was still still wet, either. It just made my shirt see-through again. Ah well. It's not like it's any worse than wearing Jasmine's clothes.

Hand in hand, we returned to Nesidy. Right as we entered the city, Grandpa arrived and said, "Tulio, I want to speak with you."

We exchanged slightly surprised glances, but I nodded for him to go.

"I'll be at the Benbow Inn," I told him. Then left him to go change out of my wet undergarments.

* * *

"Walk with me," said Lao Shi heading out of Nesidy. Tulio hesitated for a moment, the followed him towards the forest. "You are hiding something, Tulio. If it is something terrible and Aralyne finds out about it, it will devastate her."

Tulio stiffened and said, "I'm just trying to keep her safe."

"And what about Siren?" Grandpa inquired, "I know she would not let you go so easily, especially after you voluntarily decided to work for her. You should know that following the path of evil is dangerous. If Siren can't let go of her hate, in the end it will destroy her, and in the process possibly Aralyne."

"I know what I'm doing," Tulio replied, avoiding his gaze. They suddenly came to the area that Hephaestus had set on fire the previous day.

"Fire is a killer. Sometimes, what's left behind can grow better than what was there before... If given the chance." Tulio rounded on him in bewilderment. "Yes, I know about the fire. You forget that I have my own spies. What you and Siren are up to, I do not know, but take heed that despite what Aralyne says, I will do all in my power to keep her safe even if it means keeping her from you."

Before Tulio could answer, there was an evil chuckle and Siren stepped out from behind a tree followed by a bunch of dark lionesses. Tulio recognized them right away - some of the villains that Siren had recruited recently.

"No... oh, no... no..." Tulio said, realizing what was going on.

"Why, Lao Shi," said Siren with a sinister smile.

"Siren," he said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"What are you doing out here, and- so alone?" the villainess inquired, as the lionesses encircled the men, "Well done, Tulio... just like we planned."

"What?!" Grandpa exclaimed rounding on his companion.

"No!" Tulio shouted, his eyes wide, "She's lying! I didn't have anything to do with this!"

"Attack!" Siren simply said.

"No!" Tulio shouted.

The lionesses attacked. Lao Shi turned into a dragon, fighting off several at once. Tulio tried to help the dragon, but he was batted aside by a lioness, and slammed his head against a tree. He hissed out in pain, his vision blacking out for a second.

"Yes! We've got him!" Siren crowed, "Remember your training! As a unit!"

Tulio glanced up in time to see Lao Shi injured, blood dripping from one of his shoulders. The dragon tossed aside a couple of lionesses and took off flying back towards Nesidy, leaving Tulio behind.

He slowly got to his feet right as Siren rounded on him, fuming.

"You!" she snarled, storming up to him. She slapped him across the face, her nails scratching his cheek, leaving three trails of blood on his skin. He cringed, but didn't make a sound. "What have you done?!"

"I did nothing!" he snapped at her.

"Exactly!" she yelled, "And in doing so, you betrayed me!"

"I want nothing more to do with you!" he roared back.

"You cannot escape me! Remember, I can always go after Aralyne, and she'll die because of you!"

 _Aralyne!_ His eyes widening, he turned and ran back towards Nesidy. Behind him, Siren yelled out:

"You'll pay for this, Tulio!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

 _(Songs in this chapter are "One of Us" - with a slight alteration - and " Love Will Find a Way" from the movie Lion King II: Simba's Pride.)_

When I finally left the Benbow Inn, now wearing a light yellow sundress, I was in time to see Grandpa enter Nesidy in dragon form looking like he had just been in a fight. There were scratches and bite marks in random places, and dirt smudged the side of his face. He landed before me in a heap, returning to his human form.

"Grandpa!" I exclaimed running to his side. He was very weak and I was afraid he might be on the verge of dying. Looking around, I saw Jim come out of the building looking wary, "Jim, get help!"

"Oh yes! Help... at once! Of course!" said the teenager, racing back into the inn.

"Grandpa," I gently said, cradling his head in my lap, "Grandpa! Talk to me! What happened?"

Lao Shi coughed and wheezed, having a hard time speaking, but I clearly heard two words that made my heart stop. "Tulio... Ambush..."

"No..." I whispered, not wanting to believe this.

Sarah Hawkins came out of the Benbow Inn followed by her son and everyone that worked in the kitchen. Mrs. Hawkins took Grandpa from me and carried him inside.

"It's all right, Grandpa... we're here for you," Rapunzel said, gently stroking his head.

I remained sitting on the street, staring at the dirt below me. Tulio wouldn't do anything to hurt me or my friends! Would he? No, it couldn't be true. This had to be a mistake! A terrible mistake!

"Aralyne? Are you okay?"

I slowly looked up to see Danny and Sam kneeling beside me, the ghost boy placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Grandpa's hurt," I quietly said, "He said... said..." I never got to finish my sentence. The door to the Benbow Inn reopened and out came Grandpa looking much better, but still worn out.

He walked past me without saying a word and climbed onto the stage in the center of town. "People of Nesidy," he called out, and everyone came over to see what was going on. Danny helped me to my feet, but we remained where we were. "We have a traitor among us." Everyone begun muttering to each other, and Lao Shi waited for a moment before continuing on. "It's Tulio." And he told us what happened. With each word, I felt my insides turn to ice, and was vaguely aware of everyone shooting me alarmed looks.

I couldn't take it anymore and ran to the stage, leaning over the edge as I gazed up at Lao Shi. "Grandpa... it can't be true."

The crowd began talking behind me, and I could hear some of the whispers.

"It's Tulio. What's he doing here?"

"That's Tulio."

"Look at that scars... I can't believe he's here."

"That's Tulio?"

I swivelled around to see him walking through the crowd, three scratches marring his cheek. "Tulio!" Everyone moved away from him as if he were a paraiah. I tried running for him, but Grandpa had grown his tail and held me back with it.

"I never trusted him... Dirty thief."

"It's the traitor..."

"He's not even a Nesidy citizen."

"It's that little troublemaker..."

"Why I oughtta... let me at 'im! Let me at 'im!" Timon said, holding his tail out to Pumbaa, "Here; hold me back."

"Okay!" Pumbaa exclaimed, latching onto the meerkat's tail.

"Let me at 'im! Let me at 'im!" Timon repeated.

"Okay!" Pumbaa said, releasing his friend.

"I think you're missing the basic point here," Timon said in exasperation.

"What's he doing here?"

"He doesn't belong here."

"Look at that scars on his face."

"Why have you come back?" Grandpa demanded.

Tulio stopped some distance off. "Lao Shi... I had nothing to do with-"

"You don't belong here," Grandpa said, cutting him off.

"Please... I ask your forgiveness," Tulio said.

"Grandpa, please... listen to him!" I begged, trying to remove his tail, but it remained firm on my arm.

"Silence!" Grandpa snapped at me, and I became quiet in surprise. He's never lost his temper with me before.

"Give him what he deserves!"

"When you first came to Nesidy, you were young and impulsive," Lao Shi said to Tulio, "And I allowed you to stay despite your past and your thieving ways." Tulio visibly paled at that statement. What in his past could have been so bad? "And now I pass judgement for your traitorous deed."

"Kick him out! That's right! Judgment day is here!"

"Exile!" Grandpa declared.

"No!" I shouted, rounding on the Nesidy leader. "You had said that as Queen, it's _my_ choice!"

"Your feelings for him are clouding your judgement," he snapped at me, "It's clear that you think more of yourself than of Incantationen!" My mouth dropped open at his statement. _How could he say that?!_

"Exile him! Exile! Exile!"

 _"Deception_

 _Disgrace_

 _Evil as plain as the scars on his face"_

Phoebus and several of his soldiers pulled out their swords and pointed them at Tulio's chest. They backed him up out of the crowd, until he turned and ran. The setting sun painted a bloody background, making the whole scene seem ominous.

 _"Deception (An outrage!)_

 _Disgrace (For shame!)_

 _He asked for trouble the moment he came_

 _Deception (An outrage!)_

 _Disgrace (For shame!)_

 _(You know these Outsider types!)_

 _Evil as plain as the scars on his face_

 _(See you later, agitator!)_

 _Deception (An outrage!)_

 _Disgrace (For shame!)_

 _He asked for trouble the moment he came_

 _(See you later, agitator!)"_

Several Nesidy citizens had started throwing tomatoes and other bits of food at him as he ran by. He kept ducking, but some did strike him. His shirt was stained with the tomato juice and bits of cabbage.

 _"Born in grief_

 _Raised in hate_

 _Helpless to defy his fate_

 _Let him run_

 _Let him live_

 _But do not forget_

 _What we cannot forgive_

 _And he is not one of us_

 _He has never been one of us_

 _He is not part of us_

 _Not our kind"_

When he had gotten far enough away from the crowd, he stopped and looked back, his gaze locking with mine. I could see the hurt in his eyes, and I suddenly knew that Grandpa was wrong. Tulio turned and kept running until he disappeared.

 _"Someone once lied to us_

 _Now we're not so blind_

 _For we knew he would do what he's done_

 _And we know that he'll never be one of us_

 _He is not one of us_

 _Deception_

 _Disgrace_

 _Deception_

 _Disgrace_

 _Deception"_

Tears were now racing down my cheeks, and I slumped to the ground, Grandpa's tail finally releasing me.

"Aralyne!"

Danny, Sam, Flynn, Alyss, Catherine, and Adam rushed to my side.

"Oh, duck," said Catherine, hugging me.

I glanced back up at Lao Shi. "Grandpa... please reconsider!" I begged.

"I'm sorry, Aralyne. It was either exile or death," he replied.

"No! That's not-" I stammered out, but he cut me off.

"He's using you for Siren's gain!"

"No!" I shouted, "He _loves_ me... for me!"

"Because you are responsible for Incantaionen, you will stay away from him! Hatori! We're going to have to do it again!"

" _NO!_ " all of my friends shouted.

"Danny, get her out of here!" Flynn exclaimed, tearing me out of Catherine's arms and throwing me to the Phantom. Danny nodded, wrapping his arms around me, before turning us invisible and intangible. He then flew us away from the crowd, in fact, he took us to the lagoon, entering a cave behind the waterfall.

"You'll be safe here," he said, releasing me, and I sat down in a far corner. "This is where I like to hide when I want to be alone."

"What did he mean by _we're going to have to do it again?_ " I quietly asked, hugging my knees.

"Erasing your memories," he replied, "But don't worry. I'm never going to let that happen again. I swear." I buried my face in my arms and sobbed. "I'll come back for you once I know it's safe," Danny said, and it became quiet. He had left.

Lifting my head, I stared at the waterfall, thinking of the fun times I had with Tulio on the other side, and I choked back the rest of my tears, firming my chin. Wiping my eyes dry, I stood up and ran out of the cave. I became soaked once again, but I didn't care. I had to find Tulio. Jumping into the lagoon, I swam to the bank, and climbed out, running down the beach. I went around Nesidy, avoiding going through it at all costs, until I came to the forest. From there, I started searching the path for Tulio, but couldn't find him, especially now that the sun had completely vanished.

"Tulio? Tulio..."

I trekked through a stream, gazing down at my reflection. From an outside perspective, I looked like a lost, lonely, scared little girl. Turning my back on the water, I found a cave and peered into the darkness.

"Tulio?" There was no answer, so I left.

As I made my way through the forest, a couple of white birds flew out of a nearby tree, startling me. I sadly watched them vanish into the night, and continued on my way.

 _"In a perfect world_

 _One we've never known_

 _We would never need to face the world alone_

 _They can have the world_

 _We'll create our own_

 _I may not be brave or strong or smart_

 _But somewhere in my secret heart"_

Everywhere I looked, I saw animals in two's almost as if fate were trying to tell me something. I kept walking past them, determined to find Tulio.

 _"I know_

 _Love will find a way_

 _Anywhere I go_

 _I'm home_

 _If you are there beside me_

 _Like dark turning into day_

 _Somehow we'll come through_

 _Now that I've found you_

 _Love will find a way"_

I finally came to rest on a grassy hill, and sat there for a moment. I released my hair from its ponytail and let the curls fall down my back, and in front of my face. It's been a while since I took shelter behind my hair, and now here I was, keeping my face hidden as I rested my head upon my knees.

 _"I was so afraid_

 _Now I realize_

 _Love is never wrong_

 _And so it never dies"_

Hearing footsteps behind me, I raised my head and turned to see him heading my way.

 _"There's a perfect world_

 _Shining in your eyes_

 _And if only they could feel it too_

 _The happiness I feel with you"_

"Tulio!" I exclaimed, shooting to my feet and running to him. He took me into his arms, and I wrapped mine tightly around him, burying my face into his torso.

 _"They'd know_

 _Love will find a way_

 _Anywhere we go_

 _We're home_

 _If we are there together_

 _Like dark turning into day_

 _Somehow we'll come through_

 _Now that I've found you_

 _Love will find a way_

 _I know love will find a way"_

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, gently extracting me, so that I looked up at him.

"Looking for you," I replied, gently tracing the scratches on his cheek. "I believe what you said about not having anything to do with the ambush."

"It's not safe for you out here," he said, "Siren could still be lurking about."

"It's not safe for me back in Nesidy, either," I said, "Grandpa wants to - wants to erase my memories again."

"He _what?!_ " he growled out, his hold on my arms tightening.

"Danny took me away before anything could happen," I quickly explained. I also knew that Tulio was still not happy with the Phantom for the last time.

"Let's get outta here. We'll run away together! And start a life all our own," Tulio urged.

I looked down at the magic ring on my finger. The offer was tempting, especially since we could escape back to my world, but what Grandpa had said to me earlier still rang in my ears.

 _"It's clear that you think more of yourself than of Incantationen!"_

I shook my head. "Tulio, I have to go back to Nesidy, and you need to return to Siren."

He stared down at me in disbelief. "You're kidding. But we're finally together!"

"I have a responsibility to this world to defeat Siren. For that to happen, I'm going to need you to return to her side."

"But -"

"Trust me, Tulio."

He shut his mouth and grimly nodded. Giving him a weak smile, I turned and left him, walking straight back to Nesidy. I got there in a matter of moments returning to the center of town where my friends were arguing with Grandpa and Hatori Sohma.

"Aralyne?!" Flynn said in disbelief when he spotted me, and everyone fell silent, turning in my direction.

At first Hatori headed straight for me, but my friends blocked his path.

"There's no need for any of this," I said, looking directly at Lao Shi, "You were right. I need to put Incantationen first, and so I accept your decision in exiling Tulio. Now that he's gone, I can get back to focusing on my duties as Queen."

Everyone stared at me stunned. Turning my back on them all, I walked to the Benbow Inn.

* * *

Tulio returned to Siren's castle and found her in her throne room.

"What are you doing back?" she hissed dangerously.

"I realized I should have never left," Tulio replied, "When I had returned to Nesidy, Aralyne herself had exiled me from the city. She said I was no longer welcome because of what had happened to Lao Shi. Now I want nothing more than to make her suffer."

Siren sneered at him. "Aw! Banished by your true love. How sad. You may work for me again, but you must be punished for earlier, Tulio. You shall be flogged 12 times for your betrayal."

Tulio nodded, accepting his punishment.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

It had been two weeks since I last saw Tulio, so I was surprised when he showed up in my dream. I don't know why but several times a year I have this nightmare that it's the first day of school and for some odd reason, my truck isn't working or someone had stolen it therefore resulting in me being late to my classes. In this particular dream my truck had broken down half way to school and my cell phone had died so I couldn't contact anyone. Right as I had gotten out of my truck to start hitch-hiking, Tulio randomly showed up, leaning against the side of my vehicle.

"Interesting dream," he said looking about the New Mexico hills, his arms folded across his chest.

"Tulio?" I said in bewilderment, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to warn you," he said, standing up straight, "Siren is putting together a plan that would mean the total annihilation of all heroes in Incantaionen."

"Wait, what?" I said frowning, "Can you tell me what exactly Siren is planning?"

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug, "She doesn't tell me anything anymore. I've been stuck at her castle playing servant to her and the rest of the villains. There's only one way I'll ever get permission to leave this place."

"Name it. Whatever it is. We can -" I began, but he cut me off looking grim.

"I have to slay a hero."

I stared him, unsure of what to say next. He avoided looking at me.

"Tulio," I said reaching out and touching his arm. He looked down at my hand for a moment, but before I could say any more, he suddenly pulled away.

"Someone's coming," he said, looking up at the sky, "I've gotta go." And just like that, his form flickered and vanished.

"No!" I said in frustration, stamping my foot. The next thing I knew, I was waking up, and found myself staring at the ceiling of my bedroom at the Benbow Inn.

"You okay, Aralyne?" Alyss inquired. She and Catherine were awake in the other bed, the older sister rubbing sleep from her eyes. "You were talking in your sleep."

I already knew that I talked in my sleep, but I wanted to know what they heard. "What did I say?"

"You kept saying Tulio's name," Catherine said. "Oooh! Was it a _naughty_ dream?!" she demanded with a sly grin.

"Uh, no," I said, for once ignoring her joke. Already a plan was forming in my mind. Jumping out of bed, I changed into an outfit similar to Kim Possible's crime fighting ensemble, but with black pants instead of that greenish-brownish colour. I quickly explained to them what had happened two weeks ago, and what Tulio had told me in my dream.

"I thought you were up to something," Catherine said thoughtfully, "There was no way you would give up Tulio so easily, especially with all the trouble we went through to find him."

"So now what?" Alyss asked.

"Now, I'll be off on a little trip," I answered, strapping Excalibur to my back, "I have to find out exactly what Siren is up to, even if it means infiltrating her castle. In all technicality, I _will_ be doing my job, but I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone where I'm going. If I'm gone for more than twenty-four hours, send Danny after me."

"Good luck!" the sisters exclaimed. I winked at them and left the room. I quickly made it out of the Benbow Inn, and raced out of Nesidy before anyone could stop me. From there I trekked on to the castle that used to belong to the Horned King. The whole trip was really uneventful, and then I made it to the building, sticking to the shadows so as not to be spotted by any villains. When I found a side door, I stared at it for a moment, shuddering. The last time I had been here, I sacrificed myself to ensure that the Horned King was defeated. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and snuck inside the castle.

I seemed to have found myself in some sort of cellar and I was lucky that there were no villains around. Creeping about the castle turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. Or so I thought. I had stuck to the shadows, but apparently that wasn't good enough. Something knocked me in my side, and I fell over in a heap with a grunt of pain. I was then grabbed by the front of my shirt and slammed into a wall.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" a familiar voice hissed.

"Wha-?! _Tulio?!_ "

The hold on me loosened. " _Aralyne?!_ Are you _insane?!_ What the _hell_ are you doing?!"

I brushed aside his hands. "Doing my job," I replied, "You can't just tell me Siren is up to something and then not explain what it is."

"I told you I don't _know_ what it is," he said, "Now you'd better get out of here. It's too dangerous for you to be around. As soon as I figure out what she's planning, I'll contact you."

"But -"

" _Shh!_ " He placed a hand over my mouth and we heard footsteps heading our way. He swore and said, "I'm sorry about this!" Once again he grabbed my shirt and slammed me into the wall. "Coming here was a mistake. I'll make sure you suffer!"

"Tulio," I heard my own voice call out. _Great!_ We both turned to see Siren wearing a _very_ tight and _very_ short red dress. "What do we have here?"

"I found Aralyne sneaking around the halls," Tulio snarled, glaring at me. His eyes suddenly went cold and dead, which frightened me a little.

"Aralyne?" Siren said in bewilderment. She then laughed. "Well, this _is_ a surprise!"

"What do you want me to do with her?" Tulio inquired.

Siren was silent for a moment as she thought, then finally said, "How would you like one last chance to prove yourself?"

"I - of course," he replied.

"Good. Tonight, you and this little sneak will fight to the finish," Siren said with relish. Using her magic, she made Excalibur vanish from my back and reappear on hers. "Now hand her over. I have a few words for our dear little Aralyne while I take her to the dungeon."

Tulio gave me a dirty look before practically throwing me at Siren. She twisted my arms behind my back to the point I hissed in pain. I was sure she was going to dislocate them from my shoulders or even break them. Siren then shoved me down the corridor, away from Tulio who remained where he was staring after us.

On our way down to the dungeons, Siren gave me her usual threats about how she was going to be Queen with me gone and she was going to destroy the world. Honestly, she was starting to sound like a broken record. We eventually made it down to the dungeons, and she chained me to the wall in the very cell I had occupied the first time I came to the castle - back when the Horned King was in charge. Lovely. I could have fought my way out, but since the dark side of me had magically powers, I thought it best to not do anything rash just yet in case she decided to kill me right then and there.

"What are you up to, Siren?" I snarled out at her.

Her scarlet eyes widened a bit, giving me the innocent waif look. "Why, Aralyne, you don't honestly believe that I would have anything up my sleeve!"

"Cut the bullshit," I snapped, "You're a part of _me_. I _know_ you're always up to something, because _I'm_ always up to something."

She sneered at me, losing the innocence. "First lesson in villainy, _never_ reveal your plans to the hero. That gives them time to create a plan to escape and foil the plot. But you're right. I _do_ have something planned for all the heroes in Incantaionen. Too bad you won't be around to witness it. Enjoy your last day alive, Aralyne." She laughed evilly, leaving me alone in the dungeon, and locking the door behind her.

"Great," I muttered, blowing hair out of my face. This plan could have gone a bit better than expected... Okay, okay, a _lot_ better. On the upside, I at least knew I had an ally in this castle.

I was in the dungeon for hours, my arms going numb from the lack of circulation because they were raised above my head, and my butt hurt from sitting the cold stone floor.

The door suddenly opened, and Tulio came in, holding a ring of keys. "I'm getting you out of here," he said without greeting. From my angle, I couldn't see if anyone was outside the cell. I assumed not, since he spoke so bluntly.

"Look, if I'm gone before the fight, Siren's gonna blame you. I can't let that happen. You have to kill me," I said looking him straight in the eye. His gaze was no longer dead and cold like it had been when Siren arrived.

"Aralyne."

"Listen to me. Tonight, the two of us are going to fight and only one of us is coming out alive."

"Don't," he growled out.

"You'll get reinstated with the villains and go back to Nesidy. Alyss, Catherine, Flynn, and Danny will cover for you. You can find out what Siren's planning and stop her."

"There has to be another way!" he snapped, slapping his hand against the stone wall. We stared at each other for a moment in silence, and then something sparked in his eyes. "Wait, I have an idea!"

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Tulio asked me as he led me out of the cell, chains wrapped around my wrists to keep me from escaping.

"I hope you know what you're doing," I replied nervously. It had been two hours since he had explained his plan to me, and I really hoped it went without a hitch. We stopped before another cell door. According to him most of the dungeons had turned into torture chambers and we were to fight in one of them.

Tulio opened up the door and shoved me inside. Mounted all over the walls were different types of weapons, but they were all under lock and key, except for two swords: a plain one, and Excalibur. Those two weapons were guarded by Gaston who leered at me.

I involuntarily shuddered, remembering back before he had died, he had raped Lottie, and tried to do the same to Winnie Foster and Meg. Up on a balcony which looked like it had been constructed out of magic stood my evil counterpart. From what I could tell, there was no way in or out of that balcony, so I assumed she teleported herself up there.

"The rule for the match is simple," Siren called out to us, from above, "Fight until someone dies. Play as dirty as you like."

 _I plan to_ , I thought glaring up at her. Siren waved her hand, making the shackles on my wrist disappear. When I moved over towards Gaston to collect Excalibur, he chuckle and shook his head, handing me the plain sword instead. Apparently Tulio was to have my weapon. Very well.

"Begin," said Siren.

Tulio and I faced each other, glaring. I swung at his ribs, but he jumped back out of the way. Pointing Excalibur at me, he used it to summon fire and blast it in my direction. I dodged the flame as quickly as I could, but the hem of my pants got singed. I slashed at his feet, but he simply leapt up into the air, doing a cartwheel over my head and landed behind me. Before I could react, he kicked me in the back, and sent me flying across the dungeon cell, so that I slammed into the wall on the far side away from the villains. I was going to be super bruised if I managed to get out of this alive. When I collapsed on the floor, I lost hold of my sword, and saw the broken tip of a spinning wheel's spindle near my hand. Making sure the others didn't notice what I was up to, I slowly reached forward and pricked my finger against the tip. A drop of blood dripped to the floor, and I suddenly felt dizzy. Everything was fading in and out of focus. Tulio stalked up to me, scowling. And everything went dark...

* * *

Tulio had been standing at an angle to make sure Gaston didn't see what had happened to Aralyne. At the same moment Aralyne had passed out, he saw Siren topple over out of sight on the balcony. Of course, Gaston was too distracted by the fight and didn't notice what had happened to the villainess.

"What are you waiting for? Finish her!" Gaston impatiently yelled.

Ignoring him, Tulio knelt beside Aralyne's body, grabbing her wrist. No pulse. He brushed his hand over her slightly open lips. No breath. Good.

"She's dead," said Tulio standing up straight, continuing to stare down at Aralyne's unmoving body.

"What do you mean she's dead?" Gaston demanded storming up to them. He examined her trying to find a sign of life, but there wasn't one. "Must have broken her neck when she slammed into the wall," he decided standing up, "What a waste of a good body. I could have had some fun with her."

Tulio growled and resisted the urge to gut Gaston like the pig he was. "Take her away to the dissection room. I'm sure we can save her for Dr. Frankenstein or something. I have to speak to Siren."

Gaston shrugged, and picked up Aralyne's body, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of laundry.

Tulio waited until he was gone, the door shutting behind him. Now alone, he used Excalibur's magic to create a stairway made of light up to the balcony. There, he found Siren completely unconscious, and performed the same observations he did on Aralyne. No pulse and no breath. What happens to one, happens to the other. Picking up Siren with care, he brought her back down to the ground and placed her right below the balcony. The last thing he did before leaving the cell was was destroying the broken spindle tip in case anyone discovered and and realized what had happened. Tulio quickly raced over to the dissection room quite a ways down the dungeon and was in time to see Gaston placing Aralyne unceremoniously on the table.

"Siren says she wants to see you," Tulio said, "Wants to make sure I'm not lying about Aralyne being dead."

Gaston did a teeth check in piece of metal before leaving Tulio alone in the room with Aralyne. Once Gaston was gone, he moved up to the table, and brushed the young woman's dark brown curls out of her face. He then leaned forward and kissed her cold lifeless lips.

* * *

I sat up with a gasp to find Tulio leaning over me and we were in a different room than before.

"Did the plan work? Or I mean did it _not_ work?" I asked stupidly, looking about the room.

"Come on. Time to get you out of here," Tulio said helping me off the table I was occupying. He handed Excalibur to me and I replaced it on my back.

"But we still don't know what Siren's planning," I protested.

"There isn't time," Tulio urged, grabbing my hand, and pulling the magic ring off my finger. I started to protest, but he shot me an irritated glance and I fell quiet. Holding the ring tightly in his fist, he suddenly transported us back to my room in the Benbow Inn. It was empty, and I vaguely wondered where Alyss and Catherine were.

"Tulio, when will I see you again?" I inquired.

"I don't know," he admitted, but he wasn't facing me, he was digging through my jewelry box until he found another ring identical to the one he had just taken from me. He finally turned and locked gazes with me. "I'll do anything I can to help you stop Siren, but she'll more than likely be watching me. We can't be seen together too much or we'll both be in danger. And I can't have you come see me whenever you want either. I'll keep in touch." And with that, he transported out of my room with both rings.

* * *

Tulio had returned to the castle and placed both rings into his pocket the moment Siren came walking around the corner looking slightly confused. He knew she was disoriented by what had just happened. Thankfully neither she nor Aralyne has realized the connection between them yet.

"Tulio," she said, quickly regaining control, "Gaston told me that Aralyne is dead. Her body?"

He shrugged. "I left her in the dissection room. I thought some other villain could find use of her body."

Siren grinned and said, "Welcome back, Tulio."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Time now seemed to be irrelevant. I would guess that it had been a week since Tulio "killed" me, but I didn't really now how much time had transpired. I went back to my patrols, and now was helping Grandpa pass laws and such. It was actually quite boring. Why people wanted to be in a position of power was beyond me. I hated being responsible for other people's well-being. I mean, what if I screwed up? What if power got to me and I abused it? What if I turned out to be a horrible ruler?

Anyways, during my free time, I would go to the library and read, or take books home. As of right now, I was just leaving the library, watching Alyss flirt with Milo Thatch. It was adorable, really and as I passed by them, I gave her a wink that caused her to blush. From the library, I went on yet another patrol, this time starting in the forest. I had even expanded my perimeter to a couple of caves at the base of the nearby mountains. For a while I was undisturbed, until I heard a rustling behind me. I pulled out Excalibur, ready to use it just in case any villains tried sneaking up on me. Finally Tulio stepped out of the foliage.

I sighed in relief and ran to embrace him. "What are you doing here?"

"Siren sent me on a mission," he replied with a slight smile, "A bit lucky I came across you, though."

"This is nice, isn't it?" I said pulling away and taking hold of his hand instead. I swung it back and forth between us as we walked through the forest. "To finally be done with the secrets, and the lies." He didn't answer, but sighed. "What?" We came to a halt and I turned to face him.

He was looking off in the distance as he answered, "It's Siren. Ever since my fight with you, she's been keeping a close watch. It's like I have to prove myself all over again. And we still don't know what she's plotting. Us spending time together right now, it's just too risky. If I need to see you maybe I should just use my charm to talk to you in your dreams like before."

"What's the worst that can happen if we're together?" I inquired, not wanting him to go just yet, "It's not like the villains are just gonna come charging out of the blue."

And that's when a giant serpent appeared out of nowhere, with a crown of feathers and a crystal skull on its head. A part of me was terrified, because it was a mammoth sized _snake_ , but at the same time, I felt a bit braver than I used to be when I ran into Kaa and Sir Hiss. I stared up at it and shuddered before getting Excalibur ready.

Tulio jumped up and kicked the serpent in the head, knocking it into a tree. Angry, the creature's tail rattled and its head was poised, ready to strike him.

"Tulio, look out!" I warned.

I rushed forward and pushed him out of the way, right as the snake lunged forward, mouth wide open. Before it could snap its jaws around me, I raised Excalibur and used it to prop the serpent's mouth open. Tulio kicked the snake in the head again, so that it spat out my sword. It hissed at me and tried taking a bite out of my side. I smacked it in the face, and it suddenly struck me from behind with its tail, knocking me over. Excalibur flew from my grasp. Before I could move, the snake charged to bite me, but Tulio grabbed its tail and pulled it away from me. It hissed at him, but suddenly turned and slithered away as fast as it had appeared in the first place.

"Okay. That was freaky," I remarked as Tulio helped me up to my feet.

He frowned and said, "What if someone had seen us fighting together? We're going to have to keep our distance from now on. I'm sorry."

"But -" I began, but he suddenly disappeared. Stupid magical rings. Why did he have to take both of them, anyways? That just kept me trapped here in Incantationen pretty much permanently.

* * *

Eric had been sent to keep an eye out for Tulio to make sure he did his job. For a moment, he had lost sight of Tulio, but he quickly found him again and he was fighting a giant serpent alongside _Aralyne_ of all people. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? With an evil smile, he turned and headed back towards Siren's castle.

* * *

I returned to Nesidy right away and was heading towards Grandpa's office at Town Hall, when I ran into Alyss and Catherine.

"Hey, hey!" said Catherine skipping up to me and hooking her arm with mine, "We were on our way back to the Benbow Inn for lunch! Care to join us?"

"No. Not right now," I replied, then told them what had happened in the forest. I still kept them up to date with Tulio and Siren since I knew the sisters wouldn't blab that Tulio's ignoring his exile.

"Yikes! Sounds like Tulio gave you the old heave-ho," Alyss remarked.

"That's the frustrating part, Alyss. I know Tulio still cares for me, but he's convinced that spending time together is too dangerous," I replied through gritted teeth.

"You know, Aralyne, Tulio _does_ have a point," said Catherine.

"But it's only dangerous if we're caught together," I said, "Tulio and I can totally make this work. I'm just gonna have to find a way to spend time with him. Anyways, I'll see you later. I have to go tell Grandpa about the snake."

Pulling free of Catherine, I left the sisters on their way to the inn, and went straight to Town Hall. There I went into Grandpa's office and explained what had happened in the woods - leaving out the bits about Tulio, of course.

"Tell me more about the serpent you encountered," he said going to the bookshelf, and pulling out a pretty thick volume.

"Let's see. It had this freaky skull on its head," I said, but before I could continue, he opened up up the book and flipped a few pages before stopping.

"Aralyne, you must tell me, is this the serpent you encountered?" He flipped the book around and showed me the exact same creature I had seen.

"Yeah. Why? Grandpa, what is it?" I inquired.

"A guardian serpent. The serpent guards one of thirteen mystical Aztec skulls. It is believed that the skulls, if ever brought together, would spell certain doom if in the wrong hands."

My eyes widened at the news. I may or may not have told Grandpa about Siren being up to something - okay, I didn't tell him anything as that would also reveal that I had been keeping in contact with Tulio. _That's gotta be what Siren's been planning. And if she gets ahold of the rest of the skulls..._

"I want you to keep an eye on this serpent and make sure nothing goes wrong," he ordered and I nodded.

* * *

"You fools! How could you let the serpent get away?!" Siren yelled at Eric and Tulio, making the two of them wince.

Eric quickly jumped in to defend himself. "I was tracking Tulio as you had suggested, when out of nowhere he starts fighting side by side with Aralyne."

Tulio felt his heart drop, but he didn't let anything show.

" _What?!_ " Siren hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she rounded on Tulio. "You and Gaston told me she was _dead!_ "

"I swear she was! She must have tricked us somehow!" Tulio quickly explained, "I'm just as surprised as you are! And anyways, I was left fighting against Aralyne and the serpent. Eric never jumped in to help."

"Silence! I want that serpent, not excuses," Siren snarled, the tips of her fingers now crackling with black energy.

"But, Siren, if I may ask, what is it about this creature that is so important?" Tulio hesitantly asked.

"The serpent guards one of thirteen mystical Aztec skulls," the villainess explained, "It is believed that the skulls, if ever brought together, would spell certain doom if in the wrong hands. I shall finally have the power to wipe out heroes forever!" She laughed maniacally.

* * *

After my meeting with Grandpa, I went to the Benbow Inn to eat a quick lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich, and went straight up to my bedroom. I had planned on taking a bit of a nap, but before I could collapse onto my bed, I saw a note left on my pillow. Curious, I picked it up and read it.

 _Siren has tracked down the guardian serpent to a cave at the base of the mountains. I'm supposed to retrieve the skull right away with Eric but it's imperative that you get there first and intercept it._

 _\- Tulio_

So I had been right. Siren _was_ after the crystal skulls. Crumpling up the note, I turned and ran out of my room, and out of the Benbow Inn, heading right back to the place where I had seen the giant serpent. It didn't take very long for me to find the cave that the serpent was residing in.

"Here snakey, snakey," I said, Excalibur in hand as I tiptoed through the the cavern. There was a rattling sound right behind me, and I felt the air move. Without turning around, I jumped to the side and watched as the snake's head struck where I had been standing just a moment ago. "Just give me the skull and I'm outta here," I told the creature, but it then hit me with its tail. I flew backwards and slammed into a wall before falling to the ground. With a groan, I pushed myself up into a standing position.

"Well, looky who it is. Tulio's girlfriend," a familiar voice taunted. I turned to see Eric standing at the cave's entrance with Tulio beside him, the both of them holding weapons.

I knew that Siren had many of the villains brought back to life, but seeing him again sent a cold chill running through me. Our last encounter ran through my mind, and I began to hyperventilate. My gaze locked with Tulio and he slightly shook his head. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Now get that skull," Tulio demanded, shoving Eric forward a little harder than was necessary.

"Sod off, creeps!" I yelled at them, then turned my attention back to the serpent. I blasted it with Excalibur, but it kept dodging my attacks. The snake lunged at me and I jumped out of the way. I continued to dodge its long tail. Finally, it surprised me by knocking into my stomach with its head. Excalibur flew from my grasp and I skid across the floor, stopping before Tulio. The snake then wrapped its tail around me and lifted me up, its mouth wide open. Eric rushed forward and jumped onto the snake's head, reaching for the skull. The snake hissed and shook its head to rid itself of its unwanted passenger. With the serpent now distracted, its hold on me loosened and I broke free of its tail. When Eric was dislodged, I took his place on the snake's head and grabbed the crystal skull.

"Never send a villain to do a hero's job," I said, jumping off the giant creature. It hissed angrily at me and chased me about the cave. I ran past the men, and the serpent went after them instead. _Sorry_ , I mouthed to Tulio, running out of the cave.

 _Just go,_ he mouthed back, but then shouted, "Hey!"

"You just let Aralyne get away with the skull!" Eric yelled.

"No, I didn't! I -"

The snake roared, drowning out the rest of his words.

* * *

Tulio and Eric had managed to knock the snake unconscious and returned to Siren's castle to explain what had happened. Actually, Eric had jumped in to give his version before Tulio could even say one word.

"So, you honestly believe that Tulio might be working _with_ Aralyne?" Siren snapped at Eric, who flinched. It was amazing how much this tiny young woman scared him now.

"Yes, he allowed her to escape with the skull," Eric said.

"I was trying to save my skin, you idiot!" Tulio yelled at him. "In case you hadn't noticed, that snake was after the both of us!"

" _Silence!_ " Siren hissed and the men became quiet, " _Twice_ you have had the chance to retrieve that skull and _twice_ you have failed me. Since I cannot trust any of you to bring me the skull, I will retrieve it _myself_. The Aztec serpent has the ability to track the skull taken from it. I will use the snake to locate the skull and Aralyne..."

* * *

I had been in my bedroom for a few minutes studying the skull, feeling a bit guilty that I had left Tulio to deal with the serpent. So far it just seemed like a glass ornament with green jewels for eyes.

"Aralyne." My head shot up to see Tulio standing before me. Thankfully the door was closed so I didn't have to worry about being caught with him. Before I could speak, he continued, "You've got to listen to me. Siren is using the guardian serpent to track the location of the skull."

"What?!" I shouted jumping off my bed.

"She'll be here any second. You've got to get that thing out of here now!"

The skull's eyes began to flash like a beacon. _Uh, oh._ "I'm on it! Tulio, stay here." I said, then ran out of my room. I took the backdoor out of the Benbow Inn and came out into the alley away from any prying eyes.

Tulio suddenly materialized in my path, startling me. Again, stupid magical rings. "Aralyne, wait, there's something else."

The giant serpent arrived with a screech, Siren right behind it.

"Tulio, hide!" I hissed, "We can't be seen together! I'll take care of this." Tulio teleported out of the alley. Hopefully Siren didn't see him.

The snake lunged for me, but before it could get any closer, Siren struck it on the head with dark magic, rendering it unconscious.

"I believe your work here is done," she said coolly, kicking the creature.

"So, Siren, we meet again," I said, holding Excalibur tightly in my hand.

"Only this time you and the skull shall be mine," Siren replied strolling forward. She threw a ball of black magic at me and I dodged out of the way. "So tell me, Aralyne, how did you manage to come back to life?"

"It was a clone," I replied, quickly coming up with a lie, "Once she died, her body vanished."

I swung Excalibur at her, but Siren disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The next thing I knew, one arm grabbed me by the waist and the other wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air. I threw my head back, and smacked Siren in the face. With a cry of pain, she released me. Quickly facing her, I saw her rubbing her sore forehead. Scowling, she tried punching me, but I ducked, then kicked her feet out from under her. She fell over backwards, accidentally striking a fire escape with dark magic. The ladder fell and hit me in the back right as I stood up, and I fell over, again, the crystal skull flying from my hands.

With a laugh, Siren stood up and grabbed the skull. She pointed a finger at me, the tip popping with electricity. "Time to die." Before she could strike me, Tulio appeared behind her and grabbed a section of her neck. He pinched slightly, and she suddenly collapsed, unconscious. Tulio caught her before she fell over, and lifted her into his arms.

"Aralyne, are you alright?" he inquired focusing on me.

"Uh, yeah. Siren," I said, getting to my feet.

"She'll be out for ten maybe fifteen minutes. Aralyne, I've gotta tell you something. Look, Eric saw us together the first time we fought the serpent."

"What?" I said in alarm, my eyes widening.

"Siren's suspicious. She's demanding proof I've really joined her side again."

"I understand," I quietly said, then turned and re-entered the Benbow Inn. Maybe he was right. We couldn't spend time with each other anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Siren awoke to find herself in her bedroom, and Tulio stood off to the side, watching over her. "Tulio. What happened?" she demanded, sitting up in bed. The last thing she remembered was getting ready to kill Aralyne.

"You were attacked from behind by the ghost boy. Luckily I was able to rescue you," he replied.

"I don't remember seeing the Phantom at all," she snapped, rubbing her head. Something wasn't right here, and it bothered her that she was passing out at random moments.

"You still question my loyalty?" Tulio inquired, his voice strained so as not to lose his temper with her, "If my word isn't enough, I should just leave."

"No, you're not going anywhere," she commanded, jumping out of bed and walking straight up to him. She grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him down to her eye level. "I've still got plans for you. And as for the Phantom. Well, he's going to pay for interfering earlier. Go tell Chernabog to return Vlad Plasmius from the dead, and then bring me Danny Phantom."

He nodded, and when she released him, he left the room.

* * *

As soon as I was sure that Tulio had left with Siren, I went back out to grab the crystal skull I had forgotten. Yeah, I know I haven't been very bright lately, but whatever. Nobody's perfect.

I then went upstairs back to my bedroom and grabbed my library book. Ironically enough, it was _Romeo & Juliet _\- an easier version to understand, since I still had trouble with Shakespearean language. I never thought of _Romeo & Juliet _as a love story. I had always seen it as a lust story, but right now I completely understood the whole star-crossed lovers thing.

While I was reading my book, Catherine and Alyss had returned.

"Hey, Aralyne, did you know there's a giant dead snake right outside the Benbow Inn? Mrs. Hawkins found it in the alley and practically had a heart attack," said Alyss.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I should have reported that to someone to clean up," I muttered without looking up from my book.

"Okay, what's up?" Catherine asked, shutting the door behind her. "You haven't been this moody in weeks!"

Before I could answer, someone else spoke up. " _Romeo & Juliet?_ Aren't you being a bit overly dramatic, Princess?"

I felt a flush enter my cheeks as I stared uncomprehendingly at the page before me. Okay, so much for trying to read myself away from the problem.

"Tulio?! What are you doing here?" the sisters simultaneously said in surprise.

I finally looked up to see him standing right behind the girls.

"I came to check up on Aralyne," he replied, then moved forward to sit on the edge of my bed. "Siren's still going to be keeping a close eye on me. And she's determined more than ever to get her hands on the rest of those skulls."

"I kind of figured. That's why I decided we really shouldn't be around each other any more," I answered.

"Ooh! Drama! Let's watch!" Catherine eagerly said, as the sisters sat on their bed. Tulio and I ignored them.

"I'd love to spend more time with you, but it's just too dangerous," said Tulio.

"You're right," I said with a sigh, looking down at the book in my lap.

Tulio grabbed my hand, and placed something into my palm. It was a bracelet made of black leather with four diamonds and a purple crystal.

"What's this?" I inquired, gazing down at it.

"I'm giving you your own dream charm," he said, pulling a similar bracelet out of his pant pocket, "I figure since _you've_ got a dream, and _I've_ got a dream. See you tonight?"

"Definitely!" I exclaimed, not able to help the smile spreading across my face. I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Get a room!" Alyss called out.

I broke the kiss and glared at the sisters as they laughed. Tulio gave me one last smile and vanished.

* * *

Danny had decided to spend some time in the Ghost Zone when he was suddenly attacked from behind, and was bound. Surprised, he struggled against the ropes holding him down. "What the -?! Gotta get out of this!" After a while with no results, he gave up. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Well, well, well," said a voice, and Danny turned to see the Box Ghost floating towards him. "All this time we've been planning how we'd take the fight to you, and here you are. Wrapped up like a present."

"Box Ghost?" said Danny in exasperation. This villain was still incredibly pathetic.

"Beware," the Box Ghost said with a sinister tone, raising a hand and throwing a blue energy beam at Danny, knocking him into another ghost.

"Ember?!" the Phantom exclaimed in slight alarm. With an evil smirk, she punched a chord on her guitar, knocking Danny back. He crashed into yet another ghost. "Johnny 13?!"

Johnny 13's shadow hovered nearby as he said, "Been waiting a long time for this, punk."

"Wait! No! Nooo!" Danny shouted when the other ghosts surrounded him. They grabbed him, beat him, and tossed him around to each other. Ember landed another chord at him. The Box Ghost once again struck him with blue energy. Johnny's shadow sent him spinning. Technus shocked him with electricity. Kitty slapped him with her purse, throwing him to Skulker. Skulker seized him and slammed him into a wall.

Danny stared at the others warily. "Get away. Get away! Get _AWAAAAAY!_ " His scream turned into a Ghostly Wail, knocking the other ghosts away and vaporizing his bonds. He stared around in surprise. "Whoa." His attackers were floating unconscious, the Shadow half melted, and Skulker's suit smoking. "My voice is changing? Great. I'm going through ghost puberty."

Turning, Danny quickly flew out of the Ghost Zone, and shut the portal in his house behind him. With a sigh of relief, he leaned against the wall. That was a close one.

"Danny," someone said, and he looked up to see Tulio standing in the shadows. How did he get here? More importantly, _why_ was he there?

"Tulio? What's going on? Is Aralyne okay?"

"She's fine," said Tulio, sounding as if he were hiding something, "I need you to come with me, though. I... need your help."

"Of course!" he eagerly agreed. He would do anything to try and earn Tulio's respect again, for Aralyne's sake, and to repent for allowing her memories to be erased.

Tulio grasped the teenager's arm and both males suddenly found themselves in the Horned King's old castle right before Siren and Vlad Plasmius.

"What? What's going on?" Danny demanded, pulling away from Tulio and eyeing the villains.

"Get on with it," Siren said with a sinister smile.

Tulio pulled on some Ghost Gauntlets and latched onto Danny once again. The Phantom tried turning intangible to escape, but the gauntlets were preventing his powers from working. The gauntlets glowed purple as Tulio shoved Phantom _into_ Plasmius. The two ghosts screamed in unison as they fused together into one figure, the evil ghost half overwhelming the good. This new Phantom had blazing red eyes and greenish skin just like Vlad, but still resembled Danny in some way, except older, and more muscular. Even his outfit was black and white with the _DP_ logo on his chest.

"Perfect," said Siren, her grin widening.

Tulio stared at the brand new villain with cold, dead eyes, but deep down, he felt a strong surge of guilt. Aralyne was going to be devastated. She had already lost Danny once.

Phantom laughed maniacally as he flew out of the castle.

* * *

Tulio and I didn't have a dream date like he had promised. Of course Catherine and Alyss asked about it right away and I lied, saying I don't kiss and tell, but I felt worried. After getting dressed, I left the Benbow Inn and took a walk around Nesidy. A bit off, I saw several of the kids playing tag around a couple of streets and they paused their game to wave my way. I forced a smile and waved back. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for socializing.

As I continued walking, I suddenly stopped near an alley where the sunlight didn't reach. In the darkness was a pair of glowing red eyes. For a moment, my heart rate sped up as I imagined Siren stepping forward, but it wasn't her voice I heard.

"Hello, Aralyne," the voice drawled out. It was masculine and sounded somewhat familiar. Before I could do anything, the red eyes widened and an unearthly howl rang out. Wincing, I clamped my hands over my ears. The howl shook the entire city, causing windows to shatter and bits of buildings to crumble. When it ended, I looked around to see everyone was alarmed but no one seemed injured. "You like the new power? I call it my Ghostly Wail," said the voice, regaining my attention.

"Who are you?" I demanded of the stranger.

He chuckled evilly and stepped forward into the light. I stared, stunned, not believing what I saw. It was Danny, yet it _wasn't_ Danny! He looked so much older with flaming white hair, green skin, pointed ears, fangs, red eyes, and a goatee. What made me believe it was him was his outfit and the _DP_ logo. Only Danny and Dani wore that!

" _Danny?!_ " I gasped out.

He smirked at me. "Hello, Aralyne. And goodbye." He raised a hand, releasing an ectoblast. I jumped out of the way and raced as far away from him as possible. On my way, I passed by Sam Manson.

"Aralyne? What's going -?"

Grabbing her arm, I simply shouted, "Run! Just run!" Behind us, I could hear him laughing maniacally as he chased us. I tried leading him away from as many people as possible, because the less that got injured, the better. Unfortunately, I wasn't being very smart about it and caused us to end up in a dead end. _Shit!_

We panted for air, and turned to face our pursuer. Sam gasped when she finally got a good look at him, and gaped in disbelief. This evil version of Danny - which I was now absolutely convinced that's what he was - landed on the street before us, putting his fists on his hips.

"Sam and Aralyne," he sneered at us, "I suppose out of respect for our past, I should let you live." He grabbed both of us by the wrists with one giant hand, lifting us up into the air. "But that's not how I work. You know, if I had an ounce of humanity left in me, this would be a touching little reunion. But of course my humanity was killed."

He raised his free arm at us, but a purple blast knocked him aside, and he dropped us. Sam and I turned to see the Black Knight in full armor and helmet. Of course, I knew it was Tulio, but Sam didn't, and hopefully Danny didn't either. In the Black Knight's hands was Excalibur.

"You really need to stop leaving this behind," he reprimanded me and I flushed.

Scowling, Danny got to his feet and charged at the Black Knight. Our rescuer shot out more blasts, but Danny dodged. He was just too fast, knocking Excalibur from the Black Knight's grasp and punching him, sending the Knight bouncing off the pavement.

"Aralyne! Sam! Run!" the Black Knight shouted.

"Run? Where are they going to go?" Danny sneered, "They're doomed anyway. And you won't be able to save them. In fact, none of you are going anywhere."

I quickly raced forward and grabbed Excalibur off the ground, pointing it at Danny. I didn't want to fight him. What if I hurt him?

"I'm sorry, Danny," I said before blasting him with Excalibur. He got knocked into a building with a cloud of dust. I grabbed Sam's hand and ran past the Black Knight who climbed to his feet and followed us.

"We have to get to the Fentons'," Sam gasped out, "They've got to have something that can fix Danny! What's gotten into him, anyway?"

"I don't know," I replied, honestly. The Black Knight was suspiciously quiet.

Once we got to the Fentons' house, we burst inside without knocking, startling Danny's family. We didn't even give them much of an explanation other than there was ghost trouble before we raced down into their basement. I've never really been down in this area, so I was a bit confused when Sam started grabbing random objects and throwing them to me, the Black Knight, and the Fentons.

There was suddenly an explosion, and dust settled over everything. Coughing to get the dust out of my system, I turned to see that Evil Danny had caught up to us, an evil sneer on his face. It unnerved me.

"Where is he? Where's our son?" Jack Fenton demanded as he and Maddie pointed weapons at Danny.

"What have you done to our boy?" Maddie added.

Danny gave a creepy laugh before saying, "I _am_ your boy!"

"What?!" Jazz said in alarm.

The Fentons stared at him, stunned. Evil Danny sprang into the air, the clouds of dust swirling behind him.

"Don't move!" Sam shouted, her voice a bit shaky as she also pointed a weapon at him.

"Actually, nobody's going anywhere. Not until it's time for you to be blown everywhere," Danny said evilly. He flung out a strand of ectoplasm, binding Jack, Maddie, and Sam, the lot of them dropping their weapons. The Black Knight attempted to punch him from behind, but the flesh moved around his fist, leaving a hole in Danny's chest. The Black Knight quickly retracted his arm. "Nice try," Danny chuckled, turning his head a full 180 degrees. My jaw dropped and I had to hold back a shudder.

Danny created two copies of himself and had them surround The Black Knight. One seized the Knight's helmet and yanked it off, exposing Tulio to everyone. _Busted._ The other copy punched Tulio in the face, knocking him to the ground. The three copies reunited and Danny lassoed Tulio with an ectoplasm rope, swinging him to join the others.

"Hey!" I shouted running forward to push Danny away from the others. Okay, totally lame and not a kick-ass move I learned from Mulan or Shang, but I was afraid of hurting Danny. After all, he was still my best friend. A rope of ectoenergy suddenly caught me around the waist, and Danny reeled me in to seize me by the collar of my dress.

"What were you gonna do? Waste me?" Danny sneered at me. _He knew I couldn't bring myself to actually fight him!_ He slammed me into a wall. "Won't Siren be pleased when she sees I've killed you _and_ a traitor."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Danny's gaze drifted over towards Tulio, giving me enough time to grab some sort of belt. "Maybe if you'd remembered more about us, you'd have remembered the Specter Deflector!" I grunted out, snapping it around his waist. Immediately, he screamed as he was electrocuted by the anti-ghost device. Unfortunately, I got smacked by a pretty good dose of that energy and cried out in pain until I managed to wiggle myself free from his grasp. I then kicked him back into one of the Fentons' machines and the whole thing blew up in a blue blast. I turned my face to shield my eyes from the light, and when it subsided, I looked back to see Danny emerge from the flames. Of course, he was a ghost, and _couldn't_ die. Which, I was thankful for, but was now worried, because I didn't know how to stop him. Danny ripped off the Specter Deflector, grabbed me by the arm with a still-burning hand, and threw me across the room.

"Your time is up, Aralyne," he snarled, "It's been up for a very long time."

"Danny, stop!" I shouted, scooting back on my behind. Excalibur was still clutched in my hand, but I still didn't want to use it on him. "This isn't you! Please! I'll find a way to return you to normal! I promise!"

He laughed as he stalked closer to me. "Oh, you are such a child! You _promise?_ "

"Yes! I _promise!_ " I shouted out. Excalibur suddenly started glowing a pink light and it struck Danny, sending him flying out of the house. He landed somewhere in the street, looking entirely beat. He sat up and glared at me for a moment before flying away. The fight was over... _For now..._ Using my sword, I released the Fentons, Sam, and Tulio.

"You have to get out of here. Now!" I said to Tulio grabbing his helmet and shoving it into his arms. He didn't say a word as he suddenly vanished.

"What are we going to do?" Jazz quietly inquired.

I shook my head, raking my fingers through my hair. "I have to report this to Grandpa," I muttered a reply. "I'm sorry. I can't stay." I quickly left the Fentons and ran over to Grandpa's office. Just like with the Fentons, I burst right into his office and explained everything that had happened, including what had happened with Tulio. Sam, I knew could keep him a secret, but the Fentons? I didn't know if I could trust them. I thought it best to just let the truth out before it blew up in my face.

"What do you want me to do about this?" I demanded.

"You are the Savior of Incantationen, Aralyne. Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "To save everyone, Danny Phantom must perish."

I blinked at him, feeling sick. _Destroy Danny Phantom?!_

"N-No," I stammered out, shaking my head, "No! There's got to be some other way!"

"Aralyne -"

" _NO!_ " I screamed, "I _will_ fix this!" Turning on my heel, I ran out of Lao Shi's office, not looking back.

My feet had carried me out into the woods, straight for Siren's castle. I didn't know why I was stupid enough to head that way. All I knew was that I had to talk to Tulio to find out what had happened to Danny, and _why_. I didn't get very far when Tulio suddenly appeared in my path and caught me before I could run right past him.

"Aralyne, stop!" he said. He was still wearing his armour.

"Tulio," I panted out, tears now stinging my eyes, "Danny! I have to fix Danny! _Why_ would Siren do this to him?! _How_ did she?" He became guarded and I could tell he didn't want to say anything. " _Tell me!_ " I shrieked.

"It's my fault," he quietly said. There was a moment of silence where even the music of the forest had been muted.

"What?" I breathed out in disbelief.

"After saving you and the crystal skull from Siren I took her back to the castle and told her Danny had interfered. She wanted to punish him for his interference, and I think it was also to get back at you. She made me fuse Danny with Vlad Plasmius."

 _Vlad Plasmius? That_ nut _from Hotel Transylvania that tried to kill me?_

Everything finally sank in and I slapped Tulio across the face. _"HOW COULD YOU?!_ " I screamed, now sobbing. This betrayal hurt more than what Eric had done to me last year. Eric had attacked me, which was something I could handle, but Tulio had gone after someone I cared about! He had practically _destroyed_ my best friend! I reached out to punch him, but he grabbed my wrists.

"Aralyne! Aralyne, stop!"

" _NO! I HATE YOU!"_ I shouted, trying to kick out at him, but he dodged. " _GET OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!_ "

The next thing I knew, he vanished and I slumped to the ground, hugging myself. Danny was gone and it was Tulio's fault!

* * *

Tulio had returned to Siren's side after hearing Aralyne's declaration that she hated him. She was hurt and angry because of him, and he knew he deserved it, but it still stung.

"Phantom brought me back a bit of interesting news," Siren said coolly, her scarlet eyes narrowing at Tulio. He steadily held her gaze, not saying a word. "He said he had Aralyne trapped and was about to kill her when _someone_ interfered." Still, Tulio remained silent. " _YOU BELONG TO ME, TULIO! WHY DO YOU KEEP PROTECTING HER?!_ " she shrieked, getting in his face. Unlike everyone else, he didn't step back, but continued to stare her down. " _ANSWER ME!"_

"I can't tell you," he replied, " as it concerns your safety. It's best that you don't know about it. Not yet."

Siren fell silent and glared at him for a moment before taking a step back. "You make it hard for me to trust you, Tulio. I'm off to release my frustration."

With a cloud of black smoke, Siren vanished from her castle and appeared on a roof in Nesidy. From her vantage point, she could see Jane Porter leaving the library with her pet: a baby baboon, named Manu. Siren pointed at the baboon and shot him with black energy. He screeched in pain.

"Manu? Manu, what's wrong?" Jane inquired when the baboon writhed on the ground. He suddenly grew to the size of an elephant, and his eyes turned into a pale yellow colour. Jane gasped and quickly backtracked. Manu turned on her, his mouth wide with long sharp fangs. In one swift movement, he grabbed Jane and bit her back. Jane screamed from the pain. Her skin paled, and her eyes became a milky white. Now a zombie, herself, she turned and went after the Nesidy citizens with Manu on her heels.

Those unable to defend themselves, sought shelter, while those that could raced forward to fight the two new monsters. All of the lions from _The Lion King_ came to help.

"Don't bite any of them!" Phoebus had called out to the lions. "If their blood gets into your system, you'll turn into one, too!"

The felines roared to let them know they had heard.

Somehow Jane had managed to get ahold of a spear and attacked Kiara. The zombie had moved too fast for anyone to see what was going on, and the next thing they all knew, Kiara was dead and she had been skinned. With an evil smirk, Jane wrapped the fur around herself like a cloak and went after her next victim.

 _Poor kitty,_ thought Siren, silently laughing.

Manu reached out and grabbed Nala, bringing the lioness close to his open mouth...

* * *

I don't really know how long I had been in the forest crying, but eventually, I heard screaming. Quickly wiping the tears from my eyes I jumped to my feet and returned to Nesidy. People were running in one direction, so I fought against the crowd until I came across Milo Thatch dragging Alyss behind him by the hand.

"What is it?" I demanded, catching Milo by the arm to keep him from running.

"Zombies!" he replied, his glasses slightly askew, "Jane Porter, Manu, and now Nala!"

"Dammit!" I swore, then released him and raced towards the commotion.

Behind me, I heard Alyss say, "We have to help her!"

I made it in time to see Nala, eyeless and covered in scratches, leap onto Cinderella, taking a chunk out of her neck. Ella's zombie transformation was different than all the others I had witnessed and somewhat made me think of Pinocchio's mixed with Frankenstein. Her skin became a grayish-brown almost like a burlap sack, and there were stitches on her neck, arms, and legs. From the stitches oozed what looked like rotten pumpkin pulp. Her eyes turned into blue buttons and she had no teeth.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped out, skidding to a halt. I was both horrified and disgusted. "I'm sorry about this, Ella," I whispered, then rushed forward and sliced through her with Excalibur before she could attack anyone. She exploded in - not dust, but pumpkin pulp. Welp, I was never going to eat pumpkin ever again. I turned to face the next zombie.

Flynn, Catherine, Adam, Milo, and Alyss were all fighting the best they could without getting bitten by Manu, or Nala. When the baboon swiped at them, they all dodged, but Alyss wasn't fast enough.

"Alyss, look out!" Milo shouted moving forward to tackle her out of the way. They rolled off into a safer area. They sat up, covered in dirt, Alyss gazing at him in awe. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips. Milo sat there, stunned.

"You guys okay?" I asked, rushing to their side.

"Yes," Milo said with a grin, still staring at Alyss.

"Good! Now move!" I grabbed them by the shirts and shoved them out of harm's way.

Turning around, I was prepared to fight off another zombie, but Jane Porter appeared out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground. I was only fast enough knock the spear out of her hand, and in turn, she had knocked Excalibur out of mine. We wrestled on the street, rolling around so that I was on top of her and she was on top of me, back and forth for a while. Finally, the zombie had me pinned, and gnashed her teeth at my face. With one hand I kept her head at bay, careful to keep my limb away from her mouth. With my other hand, I felt around us for a weapon, and it came into contact with a brick that had come from a broken building nearby. I slammed the brick into the side of Jane's head, and she screeched, rolling right off of me. Quickly jumping to my feet, I grabbed Excalibur and shoved it into her head. This time, this zombie exploded into dust. Thank goodness. I looked around to see that Lao Shi, Jake, and Haley had arrived and fried Manu, and the remaining lions had Nala pinned down. I rushed to their aid and drove Excalibur into Nala's heart. She, too, exploded into dust.

Now that all of the zombies were dead, everyone turned towards me, almost as if they could sense something wasn't right.

"Yo, Aralyne, are you oka-"

"Fine," I said, cutting Jake off. I turned and walked away.

* * *

Siren pouted as she watched the last of her zombies get killed. Stupid Aralyne! Why couldn't Tulio have let the stupid bitch die?! Well, it looked like it was back to the original plan. With an irritated sigh, she vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

I was heading towards the Benbow Inn to get cleaned up (and cry some more over Danny), but when I reached a corner, I accidentally slammed into a few well-dressed leprechauns. Several gleaming golden leprechaun coins spilled form their clothes to the ground.

"I'm sorry," I said as they immediately started gathering up the coins, but they ignored my apology.

One leprechaun said, "Get it all, lads! They'll be on us!"

"What? Who's after you?" I demanded of them. Just then there was a menacing growl and three goblins came out of the shadows armed with iron clubs and spiked brass knuckles. The goblins surrounded us.

"Sharing time, little ones. You give us your gold, or we give you our iron and brass," one goblin said menacingly. They waved their weapons around for emphasis. "We want the shiny gold. Give it."

"There a problem here, ugly?" I demanded of the goblin.

He faced me and growled out, "Who you calling ugly, squishy meaty human?" He swung his club at me, but I simply lifted up Excalibur and sliced the club in mid-swing. A second goblin threw a brass-knuckled punch, but I grabbed the first goblin's club and raised it into a blocking position. The spikes from the knuckles became embedded in the wood. The third goblin lunged at me. I kicked the second goblin in the chest and sent him flying into the third, knocking them both out. I turned and pointed Excalibur at the first goblin. He eyed me warily before taking off running.

"You guys all right?" I asked the leprechauns. They stared at me, amazed.

"Quite the scrapper, aren't ye, lass? Ye didn't have to do that for us," said one leprechaun.

"No big," I said with a shrug, "Protecting all magical creatures is my job."

"And ye have the gratitude of Brocamas Airgead and the Airgead Clan for it," said the leprechaun. _So that was his name!_ Brocamas took a few glowing pieces of intricately-etched leprechaun gold and tucked them into my skirt pocket.

"Hear, hear!" exclaimed the Airgead leprechauns.

I took the gold out and tried to hand it back. "No, no, no, I don't really do this for money."

"Well I could've told ye that just from lookin' at yer outfit, lassie," said Brocamas with a chuckle, making my flush. "Just havin' a bit o' fun with ye. Ye're good folk." He refused to take the gold back and closed my hand over it. "Keep it." He patted my hand and winked, leaving with his clan.

I opened my palm and stared down at the gold piece for a moment, then blurted out, "Hey! What's wrong with my clothes?!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

I had been at the Benbow Inn for a while, laying in bed and crying over Danny. Around sunset, Catherine and Alyss arrived, both looking a bit worried.

"Okay, what is up? Both you and Sam have been acting strange today," said Catherine with hands on hips.

"Nothing," I muttered, turning away from them and burying my face into my already soaking wet pillow.

"Why don't the two of you go see Danny? That'll make you feel better," Catherine added. An emptiness tore through my chest, as I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut to keep from screaming.

 _Danny!_ How was it that I just kept losing him? First Siren stabbed him, then she was behind Danny Fenton becoming sick and dying, and finally she had taken all of his love and goodness from him and turned him into a monster! No. It was _Tulio_ that was responsible for practically destroying Danny!

"Not the best time right now," Alyss said to her sister, "I'll explain later." She then sat on the edge of my bed and added, "Aralyne, I spoke to Grandpa and he told me about the Crystal Skulls. He said he wanted me to help you find the next one."

I lifted up my head and gazed at her, wiping the tears from my eyes. "What's up?"

"Well, I did get a lead on one of those Aztec Crystal Skulls," she said opening a giant bag at her feet. She pulled out a worn out brown book and flipped it open, scanning one of the pages.

"Really? Where is it?" I asked, sitting up.

"That's the problem," she replied with a sigh, "It's close - either in or just outside Nesidy - but I can't pin it down."

Those skulls were the greatest threat every hero in Incantationen has ever seen. I could not allow myself to become distracted by anything. Not even Danny and Tulio...

* * *

During my evening patrol around Nesidy, a pigeon landed on my shoulder and handed me a note before flying off. It was from Brocamas, the leprechaun, saying he wanted me to go to his shop at that very moment. On the back of the note was a map that showed me the way. Within minutes, I arrived at a building with a sign that read _Pot O' Gold Imports/Exports._ Since just about everyone was in bed, it was kind of creepy being in a part of town I didn't know too well. Taking a calming breath, I opened the door to the shop and stepped inside.

Brocamas was sitting on a high stool behind a counter flipping through a volume on magical antiques. He glanced up at me and said, "Sorry for calling ye in, lass, but I've got a special order that's a mite tricky to fill: a one-of-a-kind pixie-crafted jewelry box." He turned his book towards me and I saw a picture of an ornate jewelry box with a series of intricate clasps and locks.

"What's the problem? Pixies asking too much for it?" I inquired. Doing sales business with people wasn't what I had signed up for by taking on the job as Queen.

"Oh, no. Pixies lost it ages ago," he replied waving his hand, "We've tracked it down to an old hobgoblin treasure cave just north o' town. It's abandoned now, but somebody's gonna have to get past a whole shillelagh-load a' booby traps to get that box."

"And that somebody would be me," I said, finally figuring out why he called me over.

"Smart lass," he said with a wink.

"Okay, I'm on it," I said with a nod. I left the shop and hadn't gone far when I ran into Catherine and Adam. The former quickly rushed forward and gave me a hug.

"Alyss told me about Danny," she whispered, and I hugged her tight while trying to regain control of my emotions. Thinking about Danny or Tulio made me want to cry all over again. When she pulled away, she added, "Anyways, Alyss went over to Milo's house so they could work together in trying to find the location of the Crystal Skull. Adam and I will be with you tonight on patrol, if that's okay?"

"It's perfect," I said giving her and the former Beast a weak smile, "I'm actually in the middle of a job right now for a leprechaun."

As we walked, I explained to them what Brocamas wanted me to do. For a while we were silent until we came upon the old hobgoblin treasure cave at the edge of a cliff looking out over the ocean.

"This is going to be fun!" Catherine exclaimed gazing at the dark cave, "And I finally get to use my cave explorer's vocabulary: abseil, ground-trog, spelunking." She suddenly giggled. "Spelunking. It makes tickles in my mouth."

"Okay. We're going in," I said, leading the way. I had pulled Excalibur off my back and used its magic like a flashlight so that we didn't stumble over anything and accidentally break our necks.

"Careful," I warned the others, "This place is supposed to be nasty with the booby traps."

Catherine was trying to hold back a snicker. "Boobs!" she shouted, startling me.

"I thought you were going to say spelunking again," said Adam.

Catherine was now laughing. "No, I thought of the word boobs! But I got you to say spelunking! Is it ever not funny?" She staggered towards the walls and continued on, "It's like _, Are you coming home for dinner, dear? Sorry, I've still got some spelunking to do at the office_. Or, _Okay, class, I hope you're ready for the big spelunking bee today!_ "

Overcome with the giggles, Catherine rested her hand on the foot of a hobgoblin carving. With a puff of air, the carved foot shifted downward like a lever. A horrible grinding, creaking, groaning sound was heard. The whole cave rumbled. Catherine stopped laughing and we huddled together, expecting the worst to happen.

"Oops," said Catherine nervously.

"Stay close. Whatever it is, let me handle it," said Adam pulling out his own sword. I was glad they brought their own weapons because I really didn't want to be the only one fighting monsters or villains should we happen to come across any.

The rumbling grew in volume, and out of a hole rolled a golf-ball sized rock. It rolled right towards us, but we stepped a few inches to one side, letting it roll harmlessly past us.

"That was kind of anticlimactic," Catherine stated.

The tiny rock suddenly triggered a spring-loaded arm, which launched it up in the air to a funnel-like rock basket. The rock spiraled down the funnel, dropping out into pachinko rock formation. It bounced its way down a seemingly random path, one peg at a time. It bounced off its last peg and rattled to a stop exactly in the eye socket of a carved hobgoblin. So many things suddenly happened at once. Stalactites were dropping from the ceiling, there were swinging battleaxe pendulums, jet streams of fire, and darts fired out of wall openings.

I dove out of the way of a falling stalactite, rolled off to the side, and jumped to my feet, creating a magical shield with Excalibur to block a stream of fire. Catherine had ducked under a battleaxe pendulum and quickly scurried away from it. Adam deflected the darts with his sword before throwing a fallen stalactite into one of the jet streams of fire, plugging it up. Even though he wasn't a beast any more, he still had superhuman strength.

"Hit the floor!" he yelled at me, before covering Catherine with his own body. I did as I was told and the plugged hole exploded. There was nothing but stalactite debris and belches of smoke where the fire streams had been. The three of us cautiously stood up.

"That was so scary," said Catherine. She giggled and added, "Spelunking."

Moments later, we entered a smaller cavern where the jewelry box Brocamas wanted sat on a rock column.

"There we go," I said lifting it off the column, "One antique magical jewelry box."

"That's it?" Adam said in slight irritation, "Tell me that thing spits out magic flying pixie dust or enchanted rainbows or something."

I tried opening the box, but it was sealed tight. "Can't tell. It's got a ton of locks on it. Anyways, we'd better get this back to Brocamas."

Leaving the cave was a lot easier than entering it, and in practically no time at all, we had gotten to _Pot O' Gold Imports/Exports_.

"Excellent job, lass," said the leprechaun when I showed him the box.

"Now what do you want me to do?" I inquired.

"Well, the buyer's on his way to pick it up, so if you go meet him outside of Nesidy, it'll be doin' me a huge favour," said Brocamas, "Oh, and ah... I suggest ye meet him without weapons. Swords make this duffer a wee bit uneasy."

I didn't like the sound of this, but I removed Excalibur from my back anyway, as did Catherine and Adam with their own weapons. We set them all on the counter.

"We'll be back for these," I told the leprechaun and we left the shop to go meet this mysterious buyer out in the woods.

"This doesn't feel right," Adam growled out, looking about us warily.

"I know what you mean," I replied, feeling a bit naked without my sword.

Suddenly Eric stepped out of the shadows, along with Tulio right behind him. Adam snarled at the sight of them, Catherine gasped, and I froze staring between the two newcomers.

"Aralyne?" Tulio said in surprise.

"Isn't this a nice little reunion," said Eric with an evil sneer, walking up to me, eyeing the jewelry box in my hands. "I see I'm expected. Good. I'll be taking my package now, Aralyne." He reached for the box, and I took a step back, holding the box tightly.

"Eric," I said, sounding braver than I felt. My heart was racing and my mouth had gone dry. "You're not getting this box." I then caught sight of Tulio who shook his head at me.

Eric's sneer widened and he swiped the box from me, moving quickly away. His fingers worked the locks and clasps like an expert. "And thus we are one step closer to our final goal," he said with glee. I watched in horror as the last clasp snapped free. "The end of all heroes who pollute this world!" The box opened, revealing one of the Aztec Crystal Skulls! He laughed at the stunned looks on my friends' faces and mine as he shut the box and locked it. "Another Crystal Skull is ours! Tell that filthy leprechaun his gold is on the way. Nice doing business with you!"

As he turned to leave, I finally snapped out of my shock and grabbed Eric's arm to stop him. Before I could really do anything, however, Tulio kicked my feet out from under me, knocking me onto my back. He pinned me there with a sword pointed at my chest. I glared at him, angry he had betrayed me once again.

"Keep your hands off the Crystal," he snapped. He then reached down and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me up into his face. He whispered, "This isn't the time. I'll figure out a way to get it back, I promise." I was startled by this, but the next thing I knew, he had thrown me into the bushes before rejoining Eric. Tulio grasped Eric's arm and they vanished.

Catherine and Adam joined my side right as I was crawling out of the bushes.

"I- I can't believe Brocamas would do business with the villains," I said when Adam had helped me to my feet, "And I just helped him!"

"So what do we do now?" Catherine asked.

Steeling myself, I said, "You two are going to go back home. Catherine, tell Alyss we found the skull so she can stop searching. I'm gonna take care of Brocamas." I turned and raced back into Nesidy, leaving the others behind.

I got to _Pot O' Gold Imports/Exports_ right as Brocamas was locking up the shop for the night.

"Ah, good to see ye, lass. Tip-top work tonight," he said, spotting me.

"Don't give me that!" I snapped at him, "You sold out to the villains! How could you do that?!

"For the gold, o'course," he said with a shrug, "It's just business, lass."

" _Just business?!_ " I snarled out, "Even if it means handing over an Aztec Crystal Skull to the villains?!"

Brocamas suddenly became ashen. "Th- There was an... Aztec Skull in the box?" he stammered out.

He obviously didn't know what he had just done, which made me feel a bit sorry for him. Just a bit. "Yeah, and if they gets their hands on the rest of 'em, they'll have enough power to wipe out every hero and innocent in Incantationen! How's that gonna be for business?!"

"I- I dinna know. What can we do?" he asked.

"Send a message to the villains," I replied, "I've got an idea."

Within minutes, the leprechaun had managed to create a magical portal to send Eric a message, sort of like Skype. I was browsing through his shelves while this was going on, not wanting to be seen by my ex boyfriend. I couldn't really hear Eric speaking, but I did hear Brocamas's end of the conversation.

"Yes, I'm very sorry, but I dinna know the box was a'cursed... No, I've got a counter curse charm, but I'll need to see the box and all'a its contents as soon as possible. Shall we meet at the same spot? I see. O' course. Right, then."

When it got quiet, I came out from behind a shelf full of snow globes and looked at the leprechaun's worried face. "He didn't go for it?" I asked.

"No, he'll be there in an hour," he replied, "with a bit more backup then last time."

"I see," I said, grabbing Excalibur and the swords belonging to Catherine and Adam. "Well, thanks for your help, Brocamas. I'd better go recruit an army of my own."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

I left Brocamas's shop and made my way around Nesidy, stopping by Jake's house, and Flynn's, to ask them to join me. They did so without question, and I led them back to the Benbow Inn to pick up Alyss and Catherine. Once we were all inside the room, I quickly explained why I needed them, while handing the swords to the sisters. After that, I grabbed the Aztec Skull I had gotten from the serpent and stowed it in my pocket. My friends all agreed to help me and we left the inn to head over to the hobgoblin cave.

The villains were already there. Along with Eric and Tulio were Gaston, Shego, and Shere Khan. Glad I brought the others along. There was no way I could have handled all of them on my own!

Eric was holding the jewelry box open, showing the Crystal Skull. "My patience is wearing thin, Airgead! Show yourself!"

"Sheesh, don't get your skirt in a wad, Eric," I said, stepping forward with my friends, "Brocamas had business. But I got a special delivery for you anyway. Straight from my foot to your-

"The leprechaun will pay for his treachery," Shere Khan roared, "But not before you pay with your lives, heroes!"

"I'd kinda like to keep my life. How 'bout we try a different payment plan?" I inquired.

The tiger charged at us, and Jake automatically stepped in to fight him.

Gaston tried going for us girls with a sick grin on his handsome face, but Flynn Rider came to our defense. That left Shego to come after us. Alyss and Catherine took her on together.

As all of this was going on, I caught the eye of Tulio who nodded at me from behind Eric's back. I really hated trusting him, especially after what he did to Danny, but what choice did I have to get the skull back? I pointed Excalibur at Eric and shot out a stream of fire.

"Look out!" Tulio shouted, shoving Eric out of the way and ducking to avoid being struck by the flames. The jewelry box was knocked from Eric's grip, the skull spilling out and rolling across the ground. I ran forward and snatched it up into my arms.

"No!" Eric shouted angrily, glaring at Tulio. "You idiot!"

"Don't yell at me for saving your pathetic life!" Tulio shouted back, "Maybe I _should_ have let you get burned!"

I tossed the Skull back and forth between my hands, calling out to Eric, "See ya later, loser!" I whistled to the others, and instantly, Jake left Shere Khan, scooping up me and Flynn Rider into his claws. Alyss and Catherine transformed into blue birds and we flew off, leaving the villains behind.

Jake flew us over to Grandpa's house, which is one place I have never been to before. It was a bit strange, really. I was so used to seeing him in his office, but I guess he had to have a home, right? He was surprised to see us there so late, but allowed us inside, anyway.

I told him about everything that had just happened and handed him the two skulls I had in my possession. Grandpa took them from me and placed them inside a safe in the wall in his library.

"Y'know some people collect stamps, but hey, whatever floats your boat, gruesome," Alyss remarked.

Grandpa ignored her statement and said, "We must keep these away from the villains at all costs. For now, see what you can do about finding the rest."

When we left his house, we broke up in different directions, Jake and Flynn going one way while the sisters and I headed back towards the Benbow Inn. After another crazy adventure, I needed some rest.

* * *

I was eating lunch at the Benbow Inn with Catherine, Alyss, and Flynn. While the others were talking, I stared at the wood grains in the table, my mind on Tulio. He was really messing with my emotions and I _hated_ it! One minute he was working with the villains, hurting me, and the next he acted so caring. I sighed in frustration, resting my chin in the palm of my hand.

"Seriously, Aralyne, you need to stop worrying about Tulio. Everything will turn out fine," said Flynn. It was almost as if he read my mind.

I shot him an annoyed glare until I remembered he was Tulio's friend and knew him best. I sighed once more. "Yeah, I know, but it's not easy. I mean, do you guys realize what it's like to be so confused about your feelings for someone? There are times when I feel like I'm going googly-eyed over some -" The door to the inn opened, and I stopped mid-sentence, staring at the man in the doorway. My jaw dropped.

My friends turned to see what had grabbed my attention.

"What the _hell?!_ " gasped Alyss.

"This can't be good," Catherine said.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Flynn muttered.

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles looked around for a moment until his gaze landed upon me. He smiled sincerely and walked up to us. My friends bristled at his approach.

"Ah, there you are," said Hans, ignoring the others' hostility.

"Hans," I nervously said. The last time I had encountered him, he had been working for Siren and tried destroying Arendelle to make it look like I was unfit to be Queen of Incantationen. A part of me wanted to beat him to a pulp, but another part remembered the hurt man that was always being abused by his family. Talk about having more mixed emotions! "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you," he said, "I wanted to apologize for what had happened back in Arendelle. I don't know what had come over me."

"Yeah, I bet you didn't," Flynn growled out.

Hans ignored him and continued on, "I was wrong to follow Siren, and I'm sorry for hurting you. I hope you can forgive me?"

"Why should we believe you?!" Catherine demanded. "This could be another evil scheme of yours!"

"It's not. I swear," Hans said sincerely. I look gazed up at him, but found no hint of greed, or malice in his eyes. "I've changed, Aralyne. I'm a better person now. Please believe me."

He seemed to be telling the truth, and didn't a good ruler have kindness and forgiveness in their heart? "I forgive you," I quietly said, ignoring my friends' outbursts. "So, um, did you eat?" I blushed at my stupidity. This seemed to be a lot more awkward than I expected.

"Yes, but not here. I doubt there is anything I would like to eat here," he said eyeing my plate of red enchiladas. That little dish wasn't native to Incantationen and I had gotten the recipe from my Grandma to give to the kitchen staff here. Very few Nesidy citizens were brave enough to try it.

At that moment, the door to the inn opened once more, and a cloaked figure stepped inside. The hood was pulled over his head, casting his face in shadow, but there was no mistaking those piercing blue eyes. We locked gazes for a moment, his eyes narrowing dangerously before taking a seat in a far corner with a perfect view of my table. I wasn't the only one to notice him.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but uh, I gotta go," said Flynn, standing up. He went to sit with the cloaked figure.

"We're running late for work," said Alyss. She and Catherine got to their feet and walked off, watching me with worried expressions.

"May I?" asked Hans gesturing to the empty seat across from me.

"Go ahead," I said with a nod. "And about the food, this is actually delicious. It's my favourite from my world. Not many people here are willing to try it, though. They think it's too spicy."

"Well, I suppose I could taste it," he hesitantly said.

I cut up a bit of the tortillas smothered in red chili and speared it with my fork, holding the utensil out towards him. He leaned forward and put food in his mouth. There was a loud _thunk_ and I watched from the corner of my eye as Flynn held back the cloaked figure. I knew that feeding Hans from the cloaked figure's perspective looked bad, but I didn't care. That would teach _him_ to set me on an emotional roller coaster!

Hans started coughing and his eyes watered. "Too hot?" I asked in amusement.

"No," _cough, cough_ , "no, I like it," _cough, cough_ , "really!" He had a small coughing fit. "Okay, maybe a little."

With a light laugh, I pushed my water glass towards him, and he chugged it down, even sucking on a few ice cubes.

I could now see it was taking a huge effort for Flynn to hold down the cloaked figure. With a sigh, I said, "I'll be right back, Hans. There's something I have to take care of." I left him trying to catch his breath and headed over to the corner table.

"I can easily dispose of Hans! Who would even care enough to notice he's missing?" I heard Tulio hiss out, stabbing the table with a dagger.

"Give you three guesses," Flynn replied, shooting me a glance. I stopped at the table right as Tulio looked up at me.

" _What_ is your _problem?!_ " I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I want you to stay away from Hans!" Tulio got straight to the point, standing up. He towered over me, but I wasn't going to back down.

"And why should I?" I asked coolly. I knew the answer, but I wanted him to say it. After all he kept saying it since he had saved me from Vizzini, Inigo, and Fezzik.

"Look, I'm sorry, Aralyne, I'm just saying that Hans -"

"That Hans what?" Hans asked, coming up behind me, "Are you trying to tell her about why you left the Southern Isles?"

Tulio scowled and his hand twitched towards the dagger still embedded in the table. I looked between the two of them, wondering what had happened to cause them to be enemies.

"No," Tulio growled out.

"Good. I don't want her to be told any lies about what had happened," said Hans. I was now curious and wanted to know how they knew each other. But it was not to be. "Aralyne, would you care to show me around Nesidy?" asked the Prince of the Southern Isles.

"Of course," I said, taking hold of his hand, looking pointedly at Tulio. He looked as if he were ready to murder Hans right then and there.

He suddenly surprised me by grabbing my shoulder and whispering into my ear, "Just don't trust him. More on this later." I shrugged off Tulio's hand, feeling more confused than ever, and led Hans out of the inn.

* * *

"She's too damn trusting!" Tulio snapped, sitting back in the chair. "Who knows what the bastard is scheming this time?!"

"Did you ever tell Aralyne about your past? You know, before her memories were erased?" Flynn inquired.

"No," Tulio replied, yanking the dagger out of the table top. "I didn't think it was important. You, Lao Shi, Alyss, and Catherine are the only ones that know. And if she spends time with Hans, he just may let that information _slip_ out. What is he even doing here, anyways? What's he up to? I wonder if Siren recruited him again?"

"So you're saying Hans is undercover, like you are?" Flynn asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend's idea.

"And I'm saying maybe I should keep an eye on him and Aralyne," said Tulio with a little smirk.

"What?! I don't know. You're going to spy on Aralyne?" Flynn asked skeptically.

"Hey! It's for her own good!" Tulio retaliated, getting to his feet.

"It's a bad idea!" Flynn shouted out as Tulio stormed out of the inn.

Tulio followed Aralyne and Hans at a distance, keeping to the alleys and shadows. He was, after all, still banned from the town, and didn't want anyone untrustworthy to see him.

Going around town took the entire day, and by sunset, they had gone to the beach. Hans and Aralyne skipped rocks across the calm ocean. To Tulio's delight, they didn't go to the lagoon. That was _his_ place with her! Once it had gotten completely dark, Hans wrapped an arm around Aralyne's shoulder, and they entered Nesidy, going to an Italian restaurant called _Bella Notte_ owned by Joe and Tony (from _Lady and the Tramp_ , of course). Tulio watched them through a window sharing a plate of spaghetti.

"If they share a strand of that spaghetti, I'm going to be sick," he growled out in irritation, "Could this day get any worse?"

After a while, Aralyne and Hans came out of the restaurant, holding hands. They stopped underneath a streetlight.

"Wait, Aralyne. There's something I must tell you right here and now," said Hans.

"Okay. What?" she asked nervously.

"You have a little strand of spaghetti hanging from your lip. Riiight here," Hans leaned in and kissed her right on the lips. Anger surged through Tulio and it took all of his self-restraint to not go over and beat the pompous prince.

Aralyne's words from after the Phantom incident suddenly rang through his ears. _"I HATE YOU! GET OUT OF HERE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"_

"Okay. Now it's officially worse," he growled out, "I'm beginning to think that spying is better left to soulless villains." He turned his back on the scene, and transported to Siren's castle.

* * *

I was startled by the sudden kiss, and it just felt so _wrong!_ Gently pushing Hans away, I said, "Whoa! Easy there, big fella! I think it would be best if we started off as friends. I've just got some things to figure out." I thought of Tulio and all of my out of control emotions he made me feel.

"Of course. I respect this," said Hans with a small smile. He took my hand and we walked back towards the Benbow Inn.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

I was on one of my patrols through Nesidy, accompanied by Flynn when Tulio approached us, hiding beneath his cloak.

"So, do anything fun last night?" Tulio inquired as we took a detour through an alley way. So far nothing out of the ordinary or sinister made an appearance.

"I dunno. Just hung out," I replied with a shrug.

"With Hans?" Tulio questioned.

"I wouldn't do that," Flynn said in a warning tone.

I frowned and came to a halt, turning to Tulio. Since we were safe from any prying eyes, Tulio lowered the hood of his cloak. "Why is that any of your business?" I asked. He leaned forward, and grasped my chin. Heat crept up into my face, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he said releasing me, "Just, uh, checking for pimples, dimples, spaghetti sauce."

"Spaghetti," I repeated, then realized what had happened, "were you _spying_ on me?!"

"I told you it was a bad idea to spy on her," Flynn muttered.

"You were spying on me, weren't you?!" I angrily demanded of Tulio, "You've really crossed the line!"

"Not you! I was spying on Hans! He's so obviously working with Siren!" Tulio retaliated.

"And _you're_ not?!" I snapped at him, "That's just it, isn't it?! The only way anyone could _like_ me is if it was a part of a plot to destroy me?! You're such an _asshole!_ " I said shoving him backwards. Fuming, I turned and walked out of the alley, leaving the males behind.

"Aralyne, wait!"

Right as I exited the alley, Tulio and Flynn had caught up to me, the former grabbing hold of my arm.

"Will you _leave me alone?!_ " I shouted, trying to pry his hand off me, but he held firm. "I am _done_ with you!" My cry had gotten the attention of everyone on the street. Tulio's cover was blown, and everyone began speaking at once.

"It's Tulio!"

"What's he doing back here?"

"Isn't he still banned from Nesidy?"

"Looks like he hasn't learned his lesson!"

Tulio ignored them and yelled out, "What is _wrong_ with you?! One minute you're fighting to be with me and the next you're fighting _against_ me! What do you want from me, Aralyne?!"

"I want you to make a choice! Good or evil!" I shouted.

"It was _your_ idea for me to spy on the villains!" he snapped, shaking my arm, "I've been doing the best I could to keep their trust while still remaining loyal to you!"

" _Loyal?!_ " I shrieked, tears now stinging my eyes. " _You crossed the line by turning Danny into one of THEM!_ _I lost my best friend because of you! How can I trust you after that?! Make a choice NOW, Tulio! Me or Siren! Which is it?!_ "

"I can't answer that," he said through gritted teeth. The tears were now flowing down my cheeks as I gazed up at him.

"Fine," I muttered. From my back, Excalibur began to spark with electricity and it shocked Tulio's hand. He cried out in pain, releasing me.

"Aralyne, are you all right?" Hans demanded rushing to my side and taking hold of my hand.

"Get away from her!" Tulio shouted, shoving Hans back.

"Stay out of this!" Hans retaliated, "She's already made it clear that she no longer trusts you!"

"And what makes her think she can trust you?!" Tulio snapped. "She doesn't know you like _I_ do! She doesn't know what a manipulative piece of shit you really are! In fact, you're just like the others!"

"At least I'm not a traitor to the kingdom!" Hans cried out.

" _I_ wouldn't have been banished if it weren't for _you!_ After all I did for you when you were small, _that_ was how you repaid me?!" Tulio shouted.

" _I_ never wanted the crown like you did! I just wanted to be _accepted!_ " Hans exclaimed.

Both men were red in the face, and somehow their argument seemed to have gone off track.

"And where did that get you?!" Tulio demanded. "From what I've heard, they're still treating you the same! _I'm_ the one that looked out for you! _I_ was the only one that cared about you! You were supposed to have my back, not sell me out!"

"Why? Because it's what brother's do?" Hans snapped, "Well, look at who raised us!"

I gasped, staring between the two of them. _Brothers?!_ The list of Southern Isles Princes went through my head: Alcott, Kit, Thomas, James, Vincent, Luke, Henry, Marcus, Miles, Louis, Eugene, Hans, and an unknown brother. An unknown brother that was not allowed to be mentioned within the kingdom. The pieces finally connected together. _Tulio was the missing prince from the Southern Isles!_

* * *

After her minions' little slip up with the last Aztec Skull, Siren decided to take the whole matter into her own hands. After doing a bit of research, she had located the last eleven skulls. All she needed to do now was go retrieve them. Then she would be ever closer to ridding the world of all heroes.

Before she could transport herself to their locations, Eric entered her private study.

"What?!" she snapped at him. This had better be good!

"I apologize for the intrusion, Siren, but I thought you would like to know that Prince Hans of the Southern Isles is in our part of Incantationen."

"Hans?" she repeated, her eyes narrowing. That's right. That royal pain had failed her, and he had managed to escape her wrath by being sent back to his own kingdom. The Crystal Skulls could wait just a bit longer. There was business she had to attend to - punishment she had to dish out.

"That's excellent news, Eric," said Siren with an evil sneer as she strolled up to him. "Why don't we pay our little prince a visit?"

"I thought you might say that," Eric said with a smirk. "He's in Nesidy right now trying to spend a bit of time with Aralyne."

In a puff of black smoke, the villainess transported the both of them to the middle of Nesidy.

* * *

Tulio and Hans's argument had developed into a full blown sword fight, the two of them throwing insults at each other while trying to slay each other. I was about to rush in and break it up, but I suddenly heard screaming. For a horrifying moment, I thought there was another zombie attack, but it turned out to be worse. Siren and Eric had appeared, and people were running for cover.

"You," I said, removing Excalibur from my back and pointing it at her.

"Calm yourself, you little twit! I'm not here for you," she said using a finger to push the blade aside. "I'm here for Hans, but it looks like he and Tulio are in a fight to the finish. I'll just observe for now."

"Get out of here!" I commanded, swinging Excalibur at her. She simply looked bored as she raised her hand and sent my sword flying from my grasp. It landed point down in the street some distance off.

"Do shut up. I want to see how this ends. If Hans wins then I'll be allowed to punish him for his failure in Arendelle. But if he loses, well then he'll be dead, and no longer my problem."

Crying out in frustration, I tried punching her in the face, but Eric jumped in, grabbing my wrist. He smirked before lifting me up and tossing me down the street. I skid against the road and looked up in time to see Tulio become disarmed. Hans now raised his sword, ready to kill. A cold dread suddenly swept through me. As angry as I was with Tulio, I didn't want to lose him! I _couldn't_ lose him! Without a second thought, I jumped to my feet, flew between the brothers, and stood facing Hans.

"Don't!" I commanded. "Please, Hans, don't hurt him."

He froze and stared at me. Something seemed to have died in his green eyes. He lowered his weapon and let it drop to the ground with a _clang_. "You still choose him over me?" I didn't say a thing, but stood my ground. "I see. In that case, do me the honour of giving me one last kiss, and I shall leave you alone forever."

"If you lay one finger on her -" Tulio began, but I shot him a _shut up_ look and he fell silent. I faced Hans once more.

"I had come here hoping that you would have changed your mind about us," said Hans moving forward, "but I guess it was just a silly wish." He gently grasped my chin. My heart started racing. This isn't how I wanted it to end, but if having Hans leave meant saving Tulio's life, then I was prepared for this final kiss. His lips connected with mine. It was sweet and gentle. Hans broke the kiss and whispered into my ear, "If I can't have you, then nobody can."

" _ARALYNE, LOOK OUT!_ "

There was a great amount of pain, and I gasped. I looked down with wide eyes to see a knife sticking out from my ribs, blood soaking my clothes. Hans yanked the knife back out, and before he could do any more, Flynn rushed forward and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. My knees felt wobbly and I collapsed. Tulio caught me from behind to keep me from striking the ground.

"No, no, no, no, no," Tulio muttered, holding me in his arms as he sank to his knees. Hot blood was now gushing from my wound.

Someone else was gasping. Someone else was in great pain. I looked around to see Siren was hunched over. Her scarlet eyes were wide in shock. Her hands were placed upon her own ribs, and blood seeped between her fingers. What happened? Did someone attack her, too? People were talking amongst themselves.

"Did you see that?"

"When Aralyne got stabbed, Siren became injured as well."

"Does that mean they're connected?"

"If we kill one, do we kill the other?"

 _What? Connected?_

For the first time ever, I saw fear cross Siren's face, and she suddenly vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Eric had been left behind, staring in surprise at the spot where Siren had been just seconds ago. An evil grin suddenly spread across his face and he laughed maniacally.

Everything began to fade into blackness, and I could hear Tulio's voice calling me from a great distance.

" _Aralyne! Stay with me, Aralyne! Come on, open your eyes! Don't you dare die on me! Aralyne...!"_

* * *

Someone had managed to alert Captain Phoebus of what had happened, and he arrived with a couple of his guards to take Hans away. Everyone was too distracted by what had happened to pay any attention to Eric. He had managed to leave the scene without being confronted and began heading back towards the villain castle. To continue calling it Siren's castle would be ridiculous since soon she'll be gone along with Aralyne.

For too long, he and the other villains had been terrified of Siren and the power she possessed. Whereas they all had dreams of power, or revenge, (or in Cruella's case a twisted mind to skin puppies), Siren was pure evil. She had taken pleasure in torturing, and killing just for the sake of it, and it didn't matter who was on the receiving end, either. And honestly, they were all tired of her bossy nature. They just didn't say anything because they didn't want to end up like those zombie-like creatures she created.

When he arrived, he wasn't that all surprised to find Siren was missing from the large group of villains hanging out in the Great Hall. He was still laughing hysterically, sounding much like a hyena when he barged in.

"And what has got you in such a good mood?" asked Jafar.

Eric sobered up long enough to tell them what had happened over in Nesidy. With each passing word, the villains all had matching grins plastered upon their faces.

"So if we kill Little Miss Aralyne," said Shego, her hands glowing green in anticipation, "then we also kill Siren."

"If my theory is correct, the same could be said the other way around," Eric replied.

"Is anyone even willing to test out that theory?" inquired Gantu.

"I think it would be easier if we just attacked Aralyne," Jafar replied, "She's much more vulnerable, especially if we can manage to get that blasted sword away from her."

"We're speaking as if Siren and Aralyne are still alive," Shere Khan put in, "According to Eric, the latter was just stabbed and Siren vanished. How do we know that they haven't already perished?"

"There's only one way to find out," Eric said, another bout of laughter coming up.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

" _Aralyne!_ " Catherine and Alyss shouted, running towards her unmoving body, still being held by Tulio. The wound looked a lot worse up close, especially with all of the blood pouring out into the street.

"We have to get her to the hospital! Now!" Tulio shouted, climbing to his feet.

"I wish Danny were here!" Catherine sobbed.

 _So do I_ , Tulio thought with regret. Grandpa suddenly arrived in his dragon form.

"Climb on my back," said the dragon, and Tulio did, holding Aralyne's body tightly against his. She was starting to feel cold. Lao Shi shot into the sky and within moments, they arrived at the hospital.

Tulio jumped off the dragon's back, and raced into the building. "Someone help! Please!" A few people were stunned to see him, but quickly got ahold of themselves and rushed forward to take Aralyne from him. She was placed on a gurney, and rolled off down the hall. He chased after them, with Docter Possible at his side.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"She was stabbed. It was a surprise attack. Please help her!"

"We'll do what we can," she replied. Aralyne was taken into the ER, and Tulio was about to follow, but Doctor Possible held him back. "I'm sorry. You can't go in there."

"Like hell!" he shouted, trying to get around her, but she refused to let him pass.

"Look, there's nothing you can do for her now. She's in good hands, okay?" said Doctor Possible.

"Tulio, stop," Flynn said coming up behind his friend and grabbing hold of him.

He, Alyss, and Catherine had finally arrived.

The fight seemed to have drained from Tulio, and he stood there staring at the floor. Doctor Possible had left them to join her associates in the ER.

"Come on," said Alyss shakily. "All we can do now is wait."

Flynn led Tulio to a chair, and he collapsed in it, covering his face with his hands. He had been trying to protect Aralyne from Hans, but his efforts weren't enough, and now she was dying...

* * *

Siren had transported herself to her room. She would be safe there... hopefully. The sudden injury she received after Aralyne was stabbed surprised and frightened her. _Dammit! I'm still connected to that bitch!_ she bitterly thought as blood poured from her own wound. And what's worse is that _Eric_ found out about it! No doubt he would rush to tell the other villains.

The villainess kept her hands over the wound and they glowed black. Soon the hole in her ribs was patched up, leaving only a scar, however she felt as if she were still dying. She fought against the oncoming darkness, falling to her knees. Everything in her vision kept swimming in and out of focus. _If she dies, then so do I,_ she realized in horror.

Tulio's words on why he kept protecting Aralyne came back to her, _"I can't tell you, as it concerns your safety. It's best that you don't know about it. Not yet."_

 _That bastard knew all along!_

Finally, after what felt like centuries, Siren was starting to feel stronger, and her vision cleared up. Could Aralyne have survived the wound, then? If she ever got her hands on Prince Hans, he was _dead!_ Siren slowly stood up, and brushed her long dark curls out of her face.

Suddenly, the door to her room burst open, and in the threshold stood a great deal of villains, Eric standing in the front.

 _Shit! Get control of yourself! Don't show weakness!_ "What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded, glaring at them.

They all smiled evilly at her.

"Eric told us _everything_ ," Shenzi sneered, as she and the other hyenas stalked forward. Ed gave a sinister laugh.

Siren stood her ground and raised a hand. She had intended to electrocute the hyenas then and there, but her magic simply sparked in her hand and fizzled out. _What?! What is happening?!_ Panic swelled within her. Now all of the villains were laughing. The hyenas lunged for her. _Please work!_ Siren silently begged as she thought of Nesidy. A very faint cloud of black smoke appeared around her, and the next thing she knew, she was in the woods right outside of Nesidy.

She felt entirely drained as she stared at the town before her. She couldn't just walk into Nesidy without some sort of disguise, and with her magic not working at the moment, any one of the heroes could kill her! Keeping to the shadows of the alleys, she snuck into a clothing shop, and stole a scarlet cloak, before leaving. Now with something to hide her identity, she walked about a bit more freely, and headed to the one place she knew Aralyne would be.

* * *

I woke up feeling groggy, and the area around my ribs still hurt. The room I was in was unbearably white, and that nasty hospital smell stung my nose.

"Oh good. You're awake," said Doctor Ann Possible, coming into my line of sight. She smiled down at me. I tried sitting up, but she held me back down. "Careful. You lost a lot of blood and may not be strong enough." I didn't protest and laid back down. "Tulio and the others will be glad to see you. Shall I go get them?" I nodded.

While I waited, my mind processed what had happened with Siren. _Connected? Are we really? But what will happen now? Will I be safe from her wrath? Ha! Knowing her - or myself, or whatever - she would find a way to break this connection._

The door to the room opened, and in walked Alyss, Catherine, Flynn, and Tulio bringing up the rear.

" _Aralyne!_ " the sisters exclaimed running to the bed. I slowly sat up, wincing at the pain in my ribs, and embraced the both of them. Over their shoulders, I stared at Tulio - _Prince_ Tulio. He had kept so much from me!

"How are you feeling?" Flynn inquired.

"A bit sore," I quietly replied.

Tulio slowly moved forward and the girls left me to give him space. He sat at the edge of the bed, and I transferred my gaze to my knees, my fists clutching the blanket.

"Aralyne," he said, reaching for my hand.

I pulled it away. "Please don't."

He froze. "What's wrong?"

"I can't - can't trust you," I said, my voice cracking. "You're his _brother!_ You're one of _them!_ How do I know you're really not a part of their plot?"

"What?" he said, his voice thick with confusion.

"He's not," said Catherine, "Flynn, Alyss, and I have known all along who Tulio is. Believe us, he's nothing like the rest of his family."

I still sat there, staring down at the hospital blanket. My emotions were out of control at the moment: anger at everything bad happening, hurt about Hans's betrayal, confused about Tulio's lies, but what I felt most was scared. The feeling began to swell up inside of, sending cold ice through my veins. I started to hyperventilate and everything became unfocused as if I were looking through murky water.

"Aralyne? Aralyne, what's wrong?" Tulio demanded.

"I'm afraid," I whimpered out, my voice coming out small and shaky. "The others know about us being connected! _I don't want to die!_ "

"What?" said Flynn.

Tulio was silent for a moment before he said, "That's not Aralyne..."

"What do you mean it's not Aralyne?" Alyss asked in confusion.

"Of course it is! She's sitting right here!" Catherine added.

"No, I mean it's the connection! Aralyne died twice already so she shouldn't be afraid of dying. Whatever she's feeling right now isn't her, it's Siren!"

The door to the room suddenly slammed open, and I blinked, the room coming into focus. The fear quickly drained from me. I slowly looked up to see a red-cloaked figure closing the door. Siren lowered her hood and glared at us.

"What are you doing here?" Tulio growled out, tensing up.

"Calm yourself, lover boy. I'm not here to kill your girlfriend," Siren snapped out.

"Then why are you here?" Flynn inquired.

Siren didn't say a thing and continued to glare at us.

"Well if you're not going to talk, then we'll just kick you out," Catherine said, marching right up to the villainess.

"Fine," Siren snarled, taking a step back. Strange. I have never seen her back down without a fight. "I... need your help." The whole room had gone silent. "The rest of the villains discovered my connection with Aralyne and they plan on killing me. Since Aralyne became injured, I felt the effects of it, and my powers are currently short circuiting. I figured the only way to lie low and be safe was to take refuge with Tulio."

"Why Tulio?" I blurted out feeling a twinge of jealousy. Okay, completely stupid emotion to experience since Siren was technically me.

"Why else, you idiot?!" Siren snapped at me, "He's the only minion I have left that is loyal to me!"

"You just don't get it, do you?" said Tulio, shaking his head at her. "I'm _not_ your minion! The _only_ reason I agreed to work for you in the first place was to keep both you and Aralyne safe! I knew about the connection and did all in my power to make sure neither one of you died!"

"You've... been protecting me this whole time?" I inquired, shifting my gaze over to him.

"Wait a second. I just had a thought," said Alyss gazing between me and my evil side. "We obviously know that Aralyne experiences whatever emotions Siren currently has, but what about the other way around?"

"What are you talking about?" Flynn inquired. "You saw what happened when Aralyne got stabbed!"

"I see what you're saying," said Catherine with a nod, "Siren must experience Aralyne's emotions at some level!"

"I don't _feel_ anything other than hatred, and pure evil!" Siren snapped. But I knew that wasn't true. I did feel her fear earlier.

"Then why did you let Tulio live?" Alyss inquired. "After all the times you've caught him working with Aralyne, you've always welcomed him back. I would have thought that someone as evil as you would have killed him off a long time ago."

"I was _using_ him! I knew keeping him alive would only torment Aralyne more!" Siren exclaimed.

Catherine's eyes widened and she said, "You _love_ him!"

The whole room became silent once more, everyone staring at the villainess. Siren stood there and narrowed her eyes at Catherine.

"I do not know the meaning of the word," Siren hissed out. "I feel nothing for no one!"

"Then kill him," Alyss said gesturing towards Tulio.

Siren's gaze focused on him and the moment seemed to have dragged on. She finally said in a quiet voice, "I don't need to prove anything to any of you. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Yes," Tulio replied with a nod.

"What?! No!" I shouted out, looking between him and my enemy. "She killed our friends! And she's trying to destroy everything! She's the reason behind everyone's suffering!"

"Aralyne, if I leave her to fend for herself, especially with her magic not working, she'll die within the hour," Tulio said trying to reason with me. I gazed up at him defiantly. "And if she dies, then you'll die, and I refuse to lose you again."

I faced Siren and our gazes locked. Deep scarlet against golden brown. Tulio was right. I wasn't afraid to die again, but _she_ definitely was. If we died, then... _Then who would defeat the rest of the villains and keep Incantationen safe?_ That settled everything for me. As long as the major villains were causing havoc, I couldn't abandon this world or the people in it.

"Fine," I said, turning my head so I wouldn't have to look at Siren any longer. I was clutching the blankets in my fists again. I hated to say it, but she and I were now allies.

 _(I apologize for the long wait, my faithful readers. I had to go back through the entire series and make sure everything was in order before continuing on. Plus, I was setting up a surprise for all of you that will be related to future chapters. Enjoy!)_


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

 _(Song in this chapter is "Rotten to the Core" from the Disney movie Descendants.)_

As soon as the doctors said I was okay to leave, my friends, Siren, and I went over to see Grandpa. The villainess kept well hidden beneath her cloak since we didn't want anyone to know she was here just yet. He wasn't at all happy to see her, but didn't try to attack her or anything. After we explained that we needed to keep her safe and that her powers weren't working at the moment, Grandpa ended up casting a spell on her to make sure she didn't get her full powers back. They would forever be at 50% until Lao Shi lifted the spell. Of course, Siren practically threw a fit at that, but we all ignored her. Grandpa even agreed that the best way to protect me was to protect her as well and we went out to call a meeting for everyone in Nesidy. There, Siren had revealed herself, and needless to say, everyone roared in disapproval. She simply stuck her nose in the air and glared at everyone while Grandpa explained the situation. She was to live among us and to not come to any harm. No one had ever dared challenged Grandpa before, and even with the worse villain amongst them, they still remained silent, although reluctantly.

Siren lived over with Tulio and for two weeks, she came and went as she pleased, sometimes disappearing for a couple of hours in the library. Everyone avoided her at all costs, including me, and every day I heard people grumble about her. She was more of a nuisance than anything else, and seemed to cause everyone trouble. One day, I saw _exactly_ what kind of trouble she created.

I was taking a walk through Nesidy when I spotted the villainess spray-painting her name on the side of a building. An immature thing for her to do, but I understood she had a need to cause havoc in some way.

"Siren," I growled out, storming up to her.

"Hey, Sunshine," she said with a smirk. She dropped the can and sauntered off.

"Siren, get back here and clean this up!" I shouted.

"Um, no," she replied, leaving me to chase after her.

 _"They say I'm trouble_

 _They say I'm bad_

 _They say I'm evil_

 _And that makes me glad_

 _A dirty no-good_

 _Down to the bone_

 _Your worst nightmare_

 _Can't take me home"_

I followed my evil side to the park where a bunch of the children were sitting in the grass having a picnic. They all froze at the sight of her, and she walked right through their get-together, kicking over their food.

 _"So I've got some mischief_

 _In my blood_

 _Can you blame me?_

 _I never got no love_

 _They think I'm callous_

 _A low-life hood_

 _I feel so useless_

 _Misunderstood"_

Siren stole an apple from Eilonwy and took a bite out of it with an evil sneer, before dropping it to the ground.

"I am _so_ sorry!" I apologized to the children as I ran past them. "I owe you guys a picnic!"

 _Mirror, mirror on the wall_

 _Who's the baddest of them all?_

 _Welcome to my wicked world, wicked world_

 _I'm rotten to the core, core_

 _Rotten to the core_

 _I'm rotten to the core, core_

 _Who could ask for more?_

 _I'm nothing like the kid next, like the kid next door_

 _I'm rotten to the core_

 _I'm rotten to the_

 _I'm rotten to the core"_

I followed Siren to the marketplace, and there I was starting to lose my temper. She pushed people out of her way, knocked them to the ground, jumped on stalls, and threw merchandise onto the street. Everyone shouted after her while she laughed.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I kept apologizing swerving around everyone and everything to get to her.

 _"Call me a schemer_

 _Call me a freak_

 _How can you say that?_

 _I'm just... unique!_

 _What, me a traitor_

 _Ain't got your back?_

 _Are we not friends?_

 _What's up with that?"_

As she was walking by one stall, she snatched up a ceramic teapot without stopping.

"Hey!" the owner shouted out.

I finally caught up to Siren and grabbed her arm.

"Give me that!" I snapped, taking the teapot from her. She rolled her eyes at me as I gave the property back to its rightful owner with an apology.

 _"So I'm a misfit_

 _So I'm a flirt_

 _I broke your heart?_

 _I made you hurt?_

 _The past is past_

 _Forgive, forget_

 _The truth is_

 _You ain't seen nothing yet"_

When I turned back to her, she had slipped out of my grasp and ran straight up to Sam Manson. Oh no.

 _"Mirror, mirror on the wall_

 _Who's the baddest of them all?_

 _Welcome to my wicked world, wicked world"_

The only person to hate Siren more than me was Sam, especially since it was Siren that made Danny evil. Before my evil side could say one word to Sam, I ran up to her and grabbed her arm, steering her away from my friend.

 _"I'm rotten to the core, core_

 _Rotten to the core_

 _I'm rotten to the core, core_

 _Who could ask for more?_

 _I'm nothing like the kid next, like the kid next door_

 _I'm rotten to the core_

 _I'm rotten to the_

 _I'm rotten to the core"_

"You're coming with me!" I snapped, dragging her away from the mess she created, and headed for the docks.

"Calm down, Miss Priss, it's not like I killed anyone... yet," said Siren with a smirk.

I scowled at her. "I swear, you're more trouble than you're worth!"

We made it to the docks where I found Tulio working on Captain Amelia's ship. He seemed surprised to see us.

"What -?" he began, but I cut him off.

"She's _your_ responsibility!" I snapped, practically throwing Siren at him. "Now _I_ have to clean up _her_ mess!" I turned and stormed off, prepared to make amends for what she had done around town.

* * *

 **FLASHBACK**

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a king and a queen had 13 sons. But one son was tired of being mistreated by his family and wanted love. As the days turned into years, the Prince realized he would never find true love and resorted to more desperate measures to get what he wanted.

Tulio and Hans crept through the fog surrounding the Southern Isles's swamps, the latter looking about him nervously.

"I don't know about this, Tulio," Hans whispered out to his older brother. "I think it would be better if you just _wait_ for love to happen instead of forcing it."

"Diaspro left me for Alcott, Hans, all because he's next in line for the throne. I'm 21 and not getting any younger!" Tulio hissed out, "This may be my last hope. Besides, he does come highly recommended by King Midas."

Hans tried to make his brother see reason, "But to put our kingdom's affairs in the hands of this... person? He's devious. He's deceitful. He's, he's..."

"Rumpelstiltskin!" a short redheaded man proclaimed, jumping out of the fog and startling the two princes. "Your Highnesses." Neither one of the brothers said a word, but Tulio looked excited to see him. A large goose appeared at Rumpelstiltskin's side, and jumped at Hans, honking in the younger Prince's face. "Down, Fifi. Get down!" the little imp commanded, and the giant bird backed off. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing!" Hans quickly said, "We were just leaving!"

As Hans began walking away, Tulio grabbed his brother by the back of his cloak and said to Rumpelstiltskin, "I want to make a deal. I want to be married to Diaspro _and_ be King of the Southern Isles."

"Tulio!" Hans hissed in alarm. "Are you out of your mind?! I thought you only wanted Diaspro?!"

"And Diaspro wants to be Queen," Tulio pointed out, "I'm just giving her what she wants." He turned his attention back to the imp. "So will you do it?"

"And what would I get in return?" Rumpelstiltskin inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Anything you want," Tulio eagerly replied, "just name it!"

Rumpelstiltskin smirked and said, "As of right now, I want nothing from you. I'll have to have some time to think on it." He and Fifi vanished into the fog.

"What?! No! Wait!" Tulio called out, but it was too late.

"Now what?" Hans quietly asked.

With an angry sigh, Tulio led his brother back towards their castle.

No one would have guessed that Hans would betray his brother by revealing his plans to their parents, which would then cause Tulio to be banished from the Southern Isles. He travelled over to Nesidy where he found his true love.

 **END FLASHBACK**

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin gazed around at the villains before him. They had called him out to their castle not far from the city of Nesidy.

"Glad you can make it, Rumpel," said Sarousch with a sneer.

"What is it the lot of you want?" the imp inquired.

"Well, we've been having a bit of a problem with a girl named Aralyne, and her evil side, Siren," replied Prince John, "What we want is a way to kill them both and to ensure that _nothing_ brings her back."

"Everything would have been a lot more simple if I had killed Aralyne all those months ago!" Tzekel-Kan snarled. He was still sore that he had died and had to be brought back to life. "If it hadn't been for Danny, Flynn, and Tulio, I would have gotten away with it!"

"Tulio?" Rumpelstiltskin repeated, arching an eyebrow. He remembered that name very well.

"That's right," Rothbart said, thoughtfully. "Without Tulio, Aralyne would no longer exist. It would have just been Siren. A Siren _without_ magic."

"That would have also meant that the Evil One never died," Snoops put in, "And he would have killed her as soon as she finished her job of killing all the heroes!"

"What's in it for me?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, cutting across their dialogue.

"Ruling over Nesssidy as itsss King?" hissed Sir Hiss.

"Fine," Rumpelstiltskin said with a smirk, "We have a deal. And you gave me all of the information I needed." With an evil laugh, he vanished in a puff of red smoke.

* * *

It was night by the time I had finished cleaning up Siren's mess. The first thing I did was create a whole new picnic for the kids, went back to the marketplace to help pick merchandise off the ground, and finally I had to wash the spraypaint off the building. She was causing more work for me, and more than anything, I wanted her to be gone and out of my life! But I knew that was impossible. As much as I hated to think about it, she was _me!_

Now exhausted and arms sore from cleaning, I walked back to the Benbow Inn in the dark. There were still a few people out and about doing their business and paying me no mind. Right as I was crossing a street, a voice called out my name.

"Aralyne."

I turned to see Tulio walking my way and scowled at him. "Shouldn't you be watching over Siren?"

"I locked her up in my house," he replied catching up to me and taking hold of my hand. "Let me walk you to the inn."

We were silent, and for a moment, it felt like things were back to normal, and we didn't have to babysit my dark side at every single moment of the day. I gazed up into the night sky to see a flash of light streak by.

"Look! A shooting star!" I said in amazement, coming to a complete halt. I had never seen one before, not even back in my world.

"So, what did you wish for?" he inquired.

I thought about it and replied, "A way to get rid of Siren. Or at the very least have her be not such a pain in the ass." He chuckled and I gave him a weak smile. Yeah if only it were that easy to have my wish.

We suddenly heard someone call out, "Help, please! Someone, anyone at all, help me!" Tulio and I exchanged surprised glances, and ran off down the street, following the voice. "Please, help! Please, help! I'm stuck!" The cry for assistance led us out to a part of town that had already gone to sleep. It was eerily quiet other than the voice. "Help! Oh, please, help! Someone, anyone! Help me! The pain!" Tulio and I finally came across a small carriage that had tipped over, and someone was pinned underneath it. We rushed forward and Tulio lifted up the carriage to reveal a tiny imp-like man with red hair. He seemed disoriented as he gazed up at me. "I can see a bright light. A tunnel! Grandma? Is that you?"

 _Grandma?!_ Well that was a first. "No," I replied, reaching out and grasping his hand. "My name is Aralyne. Let me help you." I hauled him to his feet and pulled him out of harm's way.

" _Rumpelstiltskin?!_ " Tulio exclaimed, dropping the carriage with a small _crash._ He seemed slightly alarmed and wary as he pulled me away from the tiny man. I blinked down at the imp. I had heard of Rumpelstiltskin, but knew next to nothing about him. "Aralyne, get away from him," Tulio hissed, clasping my hand once more. He began to lead me away from the imp, and I looked between the two males, startled.

"Wait up! What's your rush? Where you going?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, scurrying to catch up with us.

"Nowhere," Tulio replied curtly.

"What a coincidence! I was just heading that way myself," the tiny man said with a chuckle. "But, seriously, let me pay you back on that deal you wanted all those years ago. I insist. Come on. It's the least I can do after all you've done for me."

"Tulio, what's he talking about?" I asked.

"Nothing," he replied, not looking at me. He seemed scared of this little imp.

I yanked my hand from his, forcing him to stop and glared at him as he turned to me. "Don't lie to me, Tulio. What's going on? Do you know him?"

"He does," said Rumpelstiltskin with a large grin, "And I'm here to complete a bargain we started several years ago." He suddenly grasped onto Tulio's right hand.

"What?! No!" Tulio shouted in alarm. A golden light suddenly intertwined around their hands and wrists, and in a flash, they were gone.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tulio suddenly found himself in the throne room to the castle of the Southern Isles and stared about him in horror. So far his family wasn't to be seen, and neither were any of the servants. The only two people in sight was Rumpelstiltskin who was still attached to his hand, and a woman he thought he would never see again: Diaspro.

"Aralyne?" he called out, breaking free of the imp, and looking about him. "Aralyne! Aralyne! Are you in here?!"

Diaspro, dressed elegantly and with a crown on her head, gave him a curious look. "Tulio, are you all right?" she inquired, placing a hand on his elbow.

Yanking his arm away from her, Tulio rounded on the imp. "All right, Rumpel! What did you do?!"

"Don't you remember the deal, Your Highness?" Rumpelstiltskin inquired with a sneer, "You are married to Diaspro and you're King of the Southern Isles."

Diaspro looked between the two men, almost as if she were lost to what was going on.

"Why now? What's the catch?" Tulio demanded.

"Catch? No. There's no catch. No catchings, really. I mean, there's something. Small thing. Nothing. A little thing," the imp said gleefully.

"All right, I knew it. So what did you want?" asked the new King of the Southern Isles.

"Aralyne and Siren dead," Rumpelstiltskin said wickedly. "And you can thank the villains for finally setting your bargain into motion."

Tulio felt sick.

* * *

 _Tulio was gone! Rumpelstiltskin had taken him!_ A part of me began to panic as I relived the moment when Siren had taken him from me a few months ago.

 _No! Get ahold of yourself!_ Steeling myself, I took off running and was lucky to find Flynn Rider with Alyss and Catherine.

"Guys! Tulio! He's gone!"

"What?"

"Aralyne calm down!"

"What do you mean he's gone?" Siren demanded walking straight into the group. The others shifted uncomfortably away from her.

" _You're_ supposed to be locked up!" I blurted out, not pleased to see her.

"Well, as you can obviously see, I broke out. Now what do you mean Tulio's gone?" she snapped out at me.

"Aralyne, tell us exactly what happened," Catherine said in a soothing tone, trying to get me to be calm. I took a deep breath and explained what had happened starting with walking home after cleaning up Siren's mess (surprise, surprise, she wasn't in the least bit sorry about it), and ending with Tulio and Rumpelstiltskin vanishing in a flash of light.

"Oh no. Not him," Alyss moaned, smacking her forehead.

"The thing is, I don't know what Rumpel was talking about, and have no clue as to where he could have taken Tulio," I said.

"I do," Flynn said grimly, and we all gaped at him. "But we have to hurry! We need to get to the Southern Isles!"

"But how?" I fretted. "Tulio has my magic rings! I can't transport us anywhere!"

"Oh for evil's sake!" Siren snapped rolling her eyes in exasperation. " _I_ can get us there!"

"Why would you help us?" I asked skeptically, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Do use your brain just once, you little twit!" she barked out at me, "With Tulio gone, who will protect us from danger?"

A cloud of black smoke appeared around us, and when it vanished, we found ourselves right outside the castle to the Southern Isles.

"I thought her magic was cut in half?" Alyss whispered to Catherine, but the villainess heard.

"It _is_ ," Siren snapped at her. "I just drained myself doing that! We'll be stuck here for a while until I get my strength back!" My evil side _did_ look exhausted and close to passing out. One positive about her magic was that when she used it and it tired her out, it never affected me.

"Where would we even find Tulio?" I asked Flynn.

Without saying a word, he pointed up at the castle. Really? Couldn't he have said that Tulio was taken to the old woman who lived in a shoe, or something? I would have rather dealt with a bunch of misbehaved children than with Tulio's family. Strange to think of it as his family. I still couldn't really wrap my mind around the fact that he was a _PRINCE_ , and a son of Morgaine's no less! That conniving bitch! Getting off subject.

Anyways, I mentally prepared myself for whatever trouble the Southern Isles royals cooked up and led my friends (and Siren) inside the castle. When I had visited the Southern Isles, there were always guards and servants around the building even at night, but now it was strangely empty. I felt unnerved until I heard voices speaking. I followed them to the throne room where I found Tulio, Rumpelstiltskin and Diaspro from the _Winx Club_. She gave us a haughty look. Siren and I scowled at her. I've always hated her, even in the show. What she was doing here, I had no clue.

"Aralyne," Tulio said in relief when he spotted us. He quickly rushed over and gave me a hug. "How did you get here?"

"Siren," I replied. "Her magic still works to an extent, remember?"

"Tulio, who is _she_ , and what are a bunch of strangers doing here?!" Diaspro demanded, coming over and pulling Tulio away from me. We openly glared at each other. "How _dare_ you lay a finger upon the King of the Southern Isles!"

"The _what?!_ " Siren, Alyss, Catherine, and I all exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Tulio, what is she talking about?" I asked, gazing up at him with concern. Something didn't feel right.

"I -" he began, but Diaspro cut him off.

"My husband has nothing to say to you, you stupid little girl. Now be gone before I call the palace guards!"

" _HUSBAND?!_ " Siren and I screeched.

"Let _go_ of me," he hissed at Diaspro, pulling himself free, "I'm _not_ your husband!"

"All right, Rumpel, what's going on? What have you done?" Siren snarled out, turning on the imp.

"No, Siren, it's not what _I've_ done. It's what _Tulio's_ done. He is now the King of the Southern Isles, the rest of his family being locked up of course, and he's married to Diaspro," said Rumpelstiltskin, hopping in place as he clapped his hands.

"H-He would never do that," I stammered, now feeling unsure. I mean, Tulio has lied to me before.

"I was 21!" Tulio defended himself. "Young and stupid! I thought I loved Diaspro, but I don't!"

"He would if I promised him all his family problems would disappear. He would have done anything if he thought it would end his loveless situation," Rumpelstiltskin crowed, becoming still.

" _I_ love him!" I shouted out and blushed. That was the first time I said those words... that I can recall, anyway. There was still the matter of my erased memories.

"How can you when you don't exist?" the imp said with a malicious sneer.

"You better start making sense, you dirty little man!" Tulio snarled out, grabbing Rumpelstiltskin by the front of his shirt and lifting him off the ground.

"Here, let me spell it out for you!" said Rumpelstiltskin vanishing in a puff of red smoke. He reappeared before me and Siren, circling the two of us. "Tulio got married to Diaspro and became King of the Southern Isles. He was never banished and therefore never went to Nesidy."

"He was never in Nesidy and never saved... me," I whispered, my eyes widening as I realized what he was getting at.

"But you haven't heard the best part," said the imp in excitement, "Since he never saved you, once this night comes to an end, so will you."

"Aralyne might not exist, but I'm still here!" Siren crowed triumphantly. Of course. Always thinking of herself. I really hated her right now!

"Silly little girl. You don't get it, do you?" said Rumpelstiltskin, chuckling. "You see, Aralyne no longer exists. She never killed the Horned King. He killed _you_ once all heroes were destroyed! How's that for a metaphysical paradox? Looks like the villains got exactly what they wanted!"

"You vile, little monster!" Flynn exclaimed charging at the imp and tackling him to the ground.

"Flynn, no!" Catherine shouted as she and her sister tried pulling him off the little trickster.

There was another puff of red smoke, but this time it only surrounded Flynn, Alyss, Catherine, Siren, and me. When it vanished. We found ourselves outside, and far from the castle.

"Nice going, idiot!" Siren snapped at Flynn. "Now what do we do?"

"Well, I got this," said Flynn producing a long piece of parchment with fancy calligraphy in different colours.

"What is it?" I inquired, taking it from him. I quickly scanned it and realized it was Rumpelstiltskin's contract with Tulio! Yes! There had to be something in here that could help break the little imp's deal! I read over the whole thing twice while Siren complained about wasting time, but found nothing useful whatsoever.

I slumped into a sitting position against a tree, and rested my head against the bark in defeat.

"You know you should never make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin," said Catherine sitting beside me.

"Yeah, we got that," Siren grumbled.

"His fine print is crafty," she continued.

"I know," I replied, banging my head against the tree once.

"His exit clauses are sneaky," Alyss added.

"Yeah, I... What did you say?" I gasped, my eyes widening.

"I'm talking about the exit clause," said Alyss with a shrug, "Used to be, you had to guess his name, but now everybody knows who Rumpelstiltskin is."

"Alyss, I've read the fine print. There's nothing about an exit clause in here," I said waving the contract in her face.

"Well, you didn't expect him to make it easy for you. Here, let me show you how it's done," said Catherine, taking the parchment from me, "I didn't spend all that time around magical beings without picking up a few tricks. Your tiny, little brain couldn't begin to comprehend the complexity of my polygonic foldability skills."

"What are you doing?" Flynn asked, leaning over her as she folded the parchment.

"Hey, I can't get my origami on unless you back off," she said. Flynn took a step back. "Thank you. Okay, here's what you gotta do. You fold this piece here, make this letter match up here, bring this corner here, and if you do it just right, it will show you what to do. There!" She held it up for us to see.

" _Try Lou's Bliss_ ," Alyss read out. "Who's Lou?"

"Give me that!" Siren snapped, snatching the contract from Alyss. She made a few alterations until a different message appeared and she read aloud, " _True Love's Kiss. According to fairy tale law, if not fully satisfied, true love's kiss will render this contract null and void_."

"You guys did it!" I exclaimed, shooting to my feet, "If Tulio and I share true love's kiss, I will get my life back! Come on!" I raced on back towards the castle in the distance. No way I was going to lose Tulio this time!

* * *

Diaspro was no fool. She knew exactly what was going on, and honestly, she didn't care. This just meant she was no Queen of the Southern Isles. About time, too. She had been enraged when Alcott dumped her so soon after Tulio had been banished in the first place. Well, by the next sunrise, Rumpelstiltskin's deal would be permanent.

At the moment, Tulio was trying to leave the castle, but for some reason couldn't. Not even by window. The imp had somehow cast a spell that would prevent Tulio from leaving. Must have been a side affect from being King or something.

" _DAMMIT, RUMPEL! LET ME OUT OR I'LL KILL YOU!_ " he roared, trying to chase the little man, but the imp kept teleporting to different parts of the throne room. To Rumpelstiltskin, it was nothing but a game of tag, and Diaspro actually found it somewhat amusing.

Glancing out the window, she saw those meddlesome people running towards the castle.

"Rumpel," she said, "they're coming back."

"Can't stay away, can they?" he said, materializing beside her. "Not to worry, my dear! I've got this!"

* * *

I was really starting to hate magic. Once again, there was a cloud of red smoke, and we were transported back into the castle, except this time, all of us were chained up and strapped into separate guillotines.

"What the _hell?!_ " Siren screeched, struggling to break free.

" _NO!_ " Tulio shouted, running forward, but Rumpelstiltskin sent him flying backwards.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said with an evil grin, "Get too close and I'll have Diaspro kill them all!" That's when I noticed that the rope holding the blades up was being manned by the filthy gold digger. One yank on the rope and we'll be joining Marie Antoinette and her family! "Killing the Yin and Yang twins does seem a bit excessive and redundant, but they're just too meddlesome!"

Tulio stared at us for a moment, then said, "Stiltskin! I want the deal of a lifetime. That means you have to give me anything I want."

"No! Only true love's kiss can break your contract!" exclaimed the trickster, stomping his foot, "So if you thought you were just gonna... waltz in here and get your life back..."

"I don't want my life back," he replied.

"Then what do you want?"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tulio watched as everything around him changed. His friends, and Siren vanished in a puff of red smoke. The villains from outside Nesidy all appeared, and he was chained up. They all laughed maniacally, including Diaspro.

"I don't know. Not much of a storybook ending," said Rumpelstiltskin with a shrug. "The noble Prince turns himself in to save a bunch of filthy commoners in exchange for giving _me_ the Southern Isles?"

"All that matters is that they're free... and Aralyne and Siren are safe," he replied, glaring at the little imp.

"I bet they would be really touched to hear that. But, hey... I guess you can tell them yourself."

* * *

I swear if I ever got out of this, I was going to beat Rumpelstiltskin to a pulp! I had lost track of how many times he had transported me and my companions. As of right now, I was standing at one end of the throne room with manacles around my wrists, and chains leading up towards the ceiling. Right across from me, Siren was being held prisoner the same way and I realized the chains connected us. Above us were also a bunch of empty cages. Catherine, Alyss, and Flynn were standing freely off to the side, but were being guarded by Sadira and her sand powers. Tulio and Rumpelstiltskin were near the thrones with a great deal of villains surrounding us.

"Aralyne! Siren!" Tulio exclaimed, seeing us chained up, "Stiltskin, we had a deal! You agreed to free all Incantationen citizens!"

"Oh, yeah. But they're not from Incantationen, are they? Nobody's smart but me!" Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "Villains, finally, the moment we've all been waiting for. The main event of the evening! I present Aralyne and Siren! And now, to put the past behind us once and for all, I give you a princess's worst nightmare! A creature of flames, the keeper of the keep... Dragon!"

A door opened off to the side, and in stepped a massive scarlet dragon with emerald eyes, and blowing a stream of fire. Siren and I cringed away from the heat.

"Great," I heard her mutter as the reptile stalked towards us. The villains laughed.

Catherine and Alyss exchanged glances then transformed into bluebirds, flying away from Sadira.

Siren and I backed up as best as we could, but right when Dragon was going to let loose another flame, the sisters flew around her head, distracting her. Dragon's tail swiped towards Siren and she ducked. The tail smacked into the wall holding the chains and loosened them a great deal. Ignoring the bluebirds, Dragon turned towards me and blew out another stream of fire.

" _NOOOO!_ " Tulio shouted.

I screamed, turning my back to Dragon, but suddenly found I was being lifted into the air by my wrists. Siren used the loosened chains to her advantage and was pulling on them to bring me off the ground.

"Aralyne, hold on!" she grunted out. Nice to see she was literally pulling her own weight. "Hey you!" she shouted, getting Dragon's attention. Dragon went after her instead, and she dodged out of the way. Still dangling near the wall, I kicked off with my feet, so that I swung out to one end of the throne room. In the process, I managed to lift Siren into the air and swing her out of the way of Dragon's teeth. Dragon snapped at me, but missed as I latched onto a cage. Siren did the exact same thing. We reached out for each other and linked hands. Together, we managed to climb onto the same cage and glanced down. Dragon was right below us.

When she leaped at us, I shouted, "Jump!" and Siren and I hopped over to separate cages once more. Dragon's snout was caught by the cage like a muzzle.

"Now!" Siren shouted and we jumped off our cages, swinging by the chain connecting our wrists. We flew in opposite directions and when we passed, I went above her. I wrapped my end of the chain around Dragon's wing, while Siren got hers around Dragon's tail. I passed by above her once more, and when we headed for each other, I dove between her wrists to create a knot in the chain and we landed on Dragon's back side by side. Together, we yanked on our chains, tightening the mess we made, and Dragon toppled over, completely bound.

"Hey, we make a pretty good team," I said to my evil side.

"Don't get used to it, Sunshine," she said turning her back on me. As joyful as ever!

We both started laughing when we looked up to see Catherine, Flynn, and Alyss had created a bit of a mess themselves. Tulio had somehow broken free of his chains, beaten Rumpelstiltskin and rushed for us.

After pulling the chains off us, I jumped off Dragon and met up with Tulio. "I love you," I said, before grabbing him by the vest and yanking him down for a kiss. When we broke apart he laughed, but his grin quickly faded.

My left hand felt tingly and when I glanced down, it was engulfed in a gold light and transparent. I looked back to see the same thing was happening to Siren.

"Aralyne?" Tulio said with concern.

"Her night is up! Her night is up!" Rumpelstiltskin exclaimed.

"I don't understand," I said, tears forming in my eyes, "This doesn't make any sense. True love's kiss was supposed to fix everything!" My legs and feet felt tingly and I fell to the floor, as did my evil side.

"Aralyne?" said Tulio, kneeling beside me. "It's all right. There has to be something I can do."

"Maybe you kissed him wrong?" Alyss suggested landing beside us and turning back into a human.

"No. The kiss didn't work... because Tulio has to love Aralyne entirely; the good and the bad," Rumpelstiltskin said gleefully, "But it's too late now!"

"The good and the bad," Tulio muttered, then left my side and knelt before Siren. She looked absolutely terrified as we were being erased from existence. Tulio leaned over and pressed his lips against hers right as a golden light engulfed us...

I blinked my eyes and found that my friends, Siren, and I were all standing in the streets of Nesidy, the sun rising over the horizon. The villains, Diaspro, and Rumpelstiltskin were gone.

"The kiss worked," Tulio said in amazement, staring at Siren. I felt a twinge of jealousy and glared at my evil half. She gazed back at me and smirked.

"So, what happened to Rumpel?" Flynn asked.

"Well apparently he had made a deal with the villains to kill me and Aralyne," Siren said, turning her attention to him, and he obviously didn't hold up his end of the bargain. When a magical contract is broken without the exit clause, the dealer will die. So for his sake, he better be dead. Because if he isn't I will make him pay."

"Siren," I said through clenched teeth, "Thanks for your help."

"Whatever," she said turning her back on me. I rolled my eyes at her.

"I'd better get her home," said Tulio placing a hand on her shoulders and steering her in the direction of his house. I felt another twinge of jealousy, and turned on my heel, fuming. I don't care if she did help us get Tulio back! I hated her, and wanted her gone!

* * *

After getting a couple hours of sleep, I was woken up because of an emergency. Apparently Syndrome was in Nesidy and was trying to steal money from one of the banks. With a groan, I had gotten out of bed, grabbed Excalibur and left with Catherine and Alyss to try and stop him.

We got to the bank in time to see him step out of the building, a sack full of money in his hands. When he spotted me, he smirked and dropped the bag. And of course, crime fighting could never be as simple as the villains giving up. He had an assortment of weapons on him that he created and right now, he had made blue light beams on his gloves.

"Your pathetic skills can't outshine the brilliance of Syndrome," he said shooting a beam at us. We jumped out of the way. "You're fast, but I doubt you'll enjoy moving at the speed of light!" The giant 's' on his chest glowed with a white light and struck Catherine. She flew backwards with a cry of pain, but quickly turned into a bird and flew to safety.

Alyss also turned into her bird form and tried attacking his face.

"A bird is no threat when it's blind as a bat!" said Syndrome throwing little spheres at her. They exploded in multiple flashes of light, and she fell to the ground in her human form, completely disoriented.

"Watch yourself, Syndrome," I said, swinging Excalibur at him. He dodged out of the way and shot a beam of light at me. The light struck Excalibur, knocking it from my grasp. Crap. He shot another beam at me and it struck me in the chest, sending me flying through the air. I slammed into a wall, developing a major headache.

"Now if nobody minds, I'll be taking the money," said the villain turning back to the sack he dropped.

"I mind," a voice called out, and I looked up to see Tulio had arrived. Siren stood right behind him, looking annoyed as she rubbed the back of her head. The exact same spot I struck against the wall.

Syndrome shot a beam at them. Tulio dodged out of the way, but Siren wasn't fast enough. She got hit, and soared backwards, sliding across the street with a cry of pain, her scarlet cloak spread out around her. I could feel the scrapes developing on my own skin and cringed.

"A bit of advice," said Syndrome walking her way as she slowly stood up, "Stay out of my way."

Siren growled as her scarlet eyes flashed dangerously. She pointed at the nearest mailbox, and it glowed black as she sent it flying towards Syndrome. He stood calmly until the last second and raised his fist. A beam of light shot out of his glove and caused the mailbox to explode. Bits of metal and paper rained around us. Syndrome then shot Siren with another beam, throwing her back once more. She landed in a heap, and a sharp pain entered my left arm. I hated this connection.

"Don't come any closer," she snarled as Syndrome walked towards her.

"What's the matter? Afraid of some light?" he taunted.

Siren suddenly whirled on him. She grew in height, her cloak spreading out even longer than what it was. Tentacles came out from under the piece of cloth and latched onto him.

"No! No! My suit!" His entire outfit began to short circuit as he was dragged towards her. "What are you -?! No, stop! You win! I surrender!"

"What's the matter?" she hissed dangerously, "Afraid of the dark?"

"I surrender!" he yelled out, disappearing within the folds of her cloak. "Nooooo!"

By then, my friends and I had gotten to our feet and ran towards her.

"Siren, stop!" Tulio shouted.

My evil side suddenly looked weary, and shrank in height, her cloak returning to normal as she took a step back. Syndrome was left lying on the road, looking pale and shaking uncontrollably.

"It's okay. You're going to be all right," I said when I had reached Syndrome's side and knelt beside him.

"It was s-so dark," he stammered out, his eyes wide, "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Siren, what did you do?" Alyss inquired.

Siren snarled at her and walked off into the shadow of a nearby alley.

"What's up with her?" Catherine inquired as she helped me get Syndrome to his feet.

"I don't know," I said in exasperation. And I really didn't care.

"I'll go get her," said Tulio, and took off after my evil side.

After we had taken Syndrome to the jail and and given the money back to the bank, we went back to the Benbow Inn for some late breakfast. Tulio and Siren even met up with us there. The five of us had a table to ourselves and were enjoying breakfast, except Siren who just drank tea.

"Don't you want breakfast, Siren?" asked B.E.N. sidling up to our table with several armfuls of different orders. "It's good! Wakey, wakey, eggs and bacey!"

"Herbal tea," she muttered, before taking a sip from her mug.

"Come on, just one one little taste," B.E.N. insisted, "You could use a little food after the way you fought Syndrome."

" _NO!_ " she shouted. The eggs suddenly exploded in the robot's face. Siren stood up, leaving her tea where it was, and stormed out of the Benbow Inn.

"She needs to chill," Catherine muttered in annoyance, wiping egg off her pants.

"Siren is complicated," Tulio said poking at his pancakes with a fork. "There is much about her we are not meant to understand." He didn't make eye contact with me once during this scene and I felt irritated.

"And how are we supposed to deal with her?" I snapped out at him, "How can we even trust her? I mean -"

"She's _you_. What more do we need to know?" he replied. Still not looking at me, he stood up. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble." He, too left the table, and I growled under my breath.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tulio had been searching the streets for Siren for a while when he ran into Flynn.

"Have you seen Siren anywhere?" Tulio asked his best friend. "She's been in a bad mood all morning and just stormed out of the Benbow Inn."

"I saw her heading towards your house," Flynn replied.

Together the two men headed over towards Tulio's and entered the building.

"Uh, Siren? Are you here? Siren?" Tulio called out, looking about the living room. There was no sign that she had been there recently, and walked on over to the bedroom. Ever since he agreed to protect her, she had taken over his bedroom and he slept on the couch. Not bothering to knock on the door, he walked right into the bedroom, with Flynn following him. "Doesn't look like she's here," Tulio muttered, then turned to see Flynn had picked up a bag belonging to Siren. " _What are you doing?!_ "

"Looking for clues to know where she may have gone," Flynn replied with a shrug.

"Get out of there!" Tulio hissed, "That's Siren's bag! Who knows what dangerous objects she has in there!"

"Check out this beauty mirror," Flynn said, pulling out a black mirror encrusted with rubies. "Who would've thought Siren spends time sprucing?"

The glass suddenly shone a deep burgundy light that wrapped around the two men, and they found themselves in some sort of whirlpool made of the light and darkness. They were dropped in what could only be described as a ghost town with broken and rundown buildings.

"Where are we?" Flynn inquired looking about.

"It looks like Aralyne's world," Tulio said, walking down a deserted street. He came upon a cluster of destroyed buildings that looked as if it had been a university at one point. "It _is_ Aralyne's world! This used to be her school! I wonder what happened here?"

"So how do we get back?" Flynn asked.

Tulio latched onto his friend's arm. "I still have the magic rings." He thought of being in Nesidy, but nothing happened. They remained in the middle of the destroyed town. "It's not working."

"If sending us to a different world with no hope getting back to Incantationen is Siren's idea of a joke, I am so not laughing," Flynn grumbled.

"Hey, she didn't send us here," Tulio pointed out," You're the one who went snooping around in her bag and touched her magic mirror."

"Who booby traps a mirror?" Flynn demanded.

"Maybe it wasn't a trap," Tulio mused, still looking around the town, "Maybe this is where she disappears to when we can't find her."

"Definitely creepy enough."

"Turn back," a voice growled out, startling the men. "Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back."

They turned to see a multitude of large crows twice the size of chihuahuas with glowing red eyes sitting on one of the school buildings.

"Turn back. Turn back."

"Careful. How do we know they're not a threat?" Flynn inquired taking a step away from the crows.

"Turn back. Turn back."

The birds launched into the air as one and flew towards the men. They took off running onto the school's campus, hoping to find a place to take shelter, but every building had been busted wide open. After going around a hill, they found one building still intact and it was two stories high from what they could see. To their relief, the door was unlocked and they rushed inside, slamming it closed behind them. In the entrance way were four staircases, two leading up, and two leading down.

"There has to be a place for us to hide," Flynn said. He cringed as an onslaught of the crows rammed against the nearby windows.

Tulio looked at a dusty sign on the wall and wiped the grime away. _Fleming Hall_. "Aralyne told me about this building. It's the school's museum. She said it was haunted."

"Haunted?" Flynn said in amusement.

"I wonder why this would be the only building on campus still intact?"

"Can we wonder about that later?" Flynn said as a crack appeared on one of the windows.

Tulio took one of the staircases leading down to the next floor and Flynn followed him. They ended up in a small hall with an exit door to their right, but it was completely boarded up.

"Do you hear that?" Tulio said when they came to a halt.

"The demonic crows upstairs still trying to break in? Yes!"

"No, listen! Voices!"

They followed the voices to the first room to their right, and came to a complete stop in the doorway. It was a class room with chairs and desks bolted to the floor and occupying every seat was a person either in their late teens or early twenties. But that wasn't what surprised the men. No, these college students wore clothing from different time eras starting from 1916 and ending somewhere in the 1980's, and they were all _transparent_ like _ghosts!_

The students focused their gaze on the men, some smiling, while others looked curious.

"Ahem. Can I help you?" a voice inquired. Flynn and Tulio jumped and turned to their left to see the ghost of an older gentleman in his 60's teaching the class.

"Uh, no. Sorry. Wrong room," said Tulio as he and Flynn quickly rushed back down the hall. They passed by another staircase leading down to another floor, but this one was chained off. Instead, they entered a different room, and froze. In this one there were more ghosts, this time wearing outfits as far back as the 1880's.

"Now I know what she meant by haunted," Flynn said.

They turned and decided to hop over the chain at the stairs and ran down to the next floor. This seemed to be some sort of basement with a glass door and windows, but for some reason the crows outside didn't attack this one. It sounded like they were still trying to break in from upstairs. There was another door, but where this one led, they had no idea.

"What do we do now?" Flynn panted. "Those birds are going to break in any second now."

" _GET OUT!_ " a female voice shrieked and a girl suddenly materialized before them looking as if she just dropped in from 1965. " _GET OUT!_ " The men backed up against a wall, unsure of what was to happen next.

"Hey, guys," said Aralyne popping out from behind the 1960's ghost. She wore a bubblegum pink tutu and was grinning. "What's up?"

"I don't know anymore," Flynn moaned out as the men gaped at her. It looked like Aralyne, but they couldn't be sure. She had the golden brown eyes as opposed to Siren's scarlet ones, but her hair was long like it used to be before it had been chopped off. Aralyne laughed at their startled expressions.

"Aralyne," said Tulio, "How did -? Where are -? What just -? Why are you laughing? We're about to be killed by a ghost, and we're being chased by demonic crows!"

With another giggle, Aralyne snapped her fingers, and the 1960's ghost vanished. However, they could hear glass shattering upstairs and knew that the crows had finally gotten into the building.

"I don't suppose _you_ know how to get back to Incantationen?" Tulio inquired. Any second now, the birds would find them and peck them to death.

"The forbidden door," Aralyne said with a shrug. "It's the only way out. But you don't want to go there. Not now."

"Uh, yeah, we do," the males said simultaneously.

"'Kay! But, don't say I didn't warn you!" she exclaimed, then opened up the mysterious door, and found it led into a dark tunnel. She hummed as she merrily skipped along down the path.

"Have you _ever_ seen her this happy during a dangerous situation?" Flynn whispered to his friend as they quickly followed her into the tunnel, and shut the door behind them. Oddly enough, Aralyne was letting off a pinkish glow, lighting up the passage.

"No," Tulio admitted.

After a couple of minutes, they followed Aralyne out of the tunnel and into a hallway filled with doors.

"Now where are we?" Flynn inquired.

"The girls' dorm, silly," Aralyne said with a giggle. "The tunnel was used during the war when students needed to evacuate to the old science building." She took off skipping down the hall, humming once more. The men followed her past the laundry room, a couple flights of stairs, and several cracked mirrors.

"What the -?" said Tulio stopping before one mirror. His reflection showed that his whole body was rearranged, resembling a Picasso painting.

"Oooh! Good one!" Aralyne said laughing at his reflection. "I always thought you were funny looking, Tulio, but hey, appearances aren't everything!" She laughed even more, and even Flynn snickered.

* * *

I wanted to spend some time in the library, so when I entered the building with Alyss and Catherine, I was startled when Archimedes the owl said Siren was in the back reading magic books.

"Do you think Tulio knows she's here?" Catherine asked.

"Probably not," I replied. "Come on. We'd better make sure she's not up to something." The sisters and I walked past dozens upon dozens of bookshelves until we found my evil half sitting at a table, a book open before her.

"Siren," I said, taking a seat opposite from her.

"Go away," she muttered.

Ignoring her, I continued, "Tulio's out looking for you right now."

Then, without warning, she and I burst out giggling uncontrollably. When it stopped, we both slapped hands over our mouths. _What just happened?_

"I need to be alone," Siren muttered, slamming the book shut. She left it on the table as she stood up and walked off.

"That was just plain freaky," said Alyss.

Leaving the sisters behind, I chased after Siren out of the library and followed her all the way to Tulio's house. She didn't know I had trailed her inside and all the way into Tulio's bedroom. I stood around the corner, peering in after her. She picked a bag off the floor and beneath it was a beauty mirror.

"No," she said, lifting up the mirror. Then in a flash of burgundy light, she vanished.

* * *

Aralyne had led the men out of the girls' dorm and skipped merrily down a hill.

"Well, come on then!" she called out to the men, waving for them to catch up. "Once you get out of Silver City, you have to get on over to Fort Bayard. That's where the Forbidden Door is!"

Since the streets were entirely empty, they had no need to worry about getting run over by vehicles, but it was creepy travelling through such a dead town. After a while, they caught up with Aralyne who was skipping around a broken stoplight at the edge of town. Beyond that were many hills leading to a distant mountain.

"How much further?" Tulio inquired.

Aralyne stopped skipping and pointed towards the hills. "Just over there near that mountain. Ooooh! You see that rock formation to the far left? It's in the shape of a kneeling nun! Pretty neat, huh?"

"Aralyne," Tulio began, but when he turned towards her, she was gone.

"She ditched us! I can't believe she ditched us!" Flynn huffed in irritation.

"Well, let's start walking," Tulio said.

They hadn't gotten far when Aralyne stepped out from behind a tree, except this time she wore a long grey dress that dragged along behind her, and her hair covered half of her sad face. The men gaped at her.

"Where were you?" Flynn demanded, "Shopping for dresses?!" Aralyne shrank away from him and looked on the verge of crying.

"He didn't mean it," Tulio softly said, placing a hand on her shoulder. The earth started shaking and stone walls shot out of the ground in a weird pattern, surrounding the three of them.

"We've got to get out of here!" Flynn shouted, turning in a circle to see if there was an exit.

"It's a maze," Aralyne quietly said. "You can't get out. You have to go through. I can show you the way, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore. He already doesn't like me." She looked over at Flynn and sniffled.

"Come on, that's not -" Flynn began, but Aralyne didn't listen. She began walking down the maze. "Gee, Aralyne, moody much?"

"Yeah, she's like a whole different person," Tulio mused.

 _(I just gave you a brief ghost tour of my actual school. Enjoy!)_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"And remember the time I called you both idiots? I'm sorry for that, too," said Aralyne as she led Tulio and Flynn around a corner to the maze. She kept her eyes downcast, seeming to know the path out of the maze by heart. "And, also -"

"For the hundredth, millionth time," said Flynn cutting her off.

"We forgive you!" the males said simultaneously.

They came to a dead end, and Aralyne simply touched the wall before her. It opened like a sliding door and the three of them found that they were much closer to the mountain standing at the edge of an even older ghost town. However, in this area, all of the buildings were whole, not like the ones they saw when they first arrived in this strange world. Standing at the entrance were two stone guards; one a smiling angel, and the other a frowning demon.

"That's the end," Aralyne said meekly.

"Sweet!" Flynn said with a grin.

"Thanks, Aralyne," said Tulio as they stepped forward past her.

The stone guards suddenly came to life with glowing red eyes and swords materialized in their hands. They fused together, back to back, creating an even more terrifying creature.

"No way," Tulio moaned out.

"I told you you wouldn't like me when we got here," Aralyne quietly said, then ran, disappearing back into the maze. The wall closed off, leaving the men stranded with the stone guards.

The statue moved towards them, and the men dodged out of the way, running straight into Fort Bayard. All along the area were _hundreds_ of ghosts from different time eras watching the scene. It was hard to determine which time period came first because there were even long dead Native Americans and Pioneers.

The angel/demon slashed at Flynn and he jumped out of harm's way. Then it grasped Tulio around the middle and lifted him up into the air. He struggled to break free, but he could hardly move.

"Yo, Four-eyes!" a female voice shouted, and Aralyne dressed in a dark green camouflage outfit, appeared. She had jumped off the roof of a house, did a flip in the air, and kicked the statue, knocking it over. In the process, Tulio was dropped to the ground. She cheered, "In your faces!" The statue got back to its feet and slashed at her with its swords, but she simply dodged every move. Finally, with a smirk, she ran forward, stole a sword from it, and used the weapon to slice the statue vertically in half. It fell to the ground in a pile of dust. Aralyne cheered again, holding a hand up to Tulio. "High five! Come on!"

" _What is your deal?!_ " Flynn finally shouted, after gaping at her for a moment. "First, you're bubbly and carefree, then you're weepy, and now you're a Marine?! Make up your mind! Who are you?!"

Suddenly the Aralyne in the pink tutu, and the Aralyne in the grey dress appeared next to the Aralyne in camo. "I'm Aralyne," they all said.

"Happy, timid, brave," Tulio said as the men stared at the Aralynes. "Different sides of Aralyne's personality. We're not in Aralyne's world."

"We're in her head," Flynn finally said in realization.

"And I want you out," said a fourth figure, dropping from the sky, wearing a red cloak. However, this one had scarlet eyes and was glaring at the men. Siren. The three Aralynes vanished. "The mirror you found is for meditation," she snarled angrily, "It's a portal into mine and Aralyne's _mind! Not a toy!_ "

Flynn laughed sheepishly. "My bad."

The air was suddenly filled with caws, and in the sky were thousands of large crows heading their way.

"You have to go. Now!" said Siren pointing towards a three-story hospital some ways down the dirt road. "The exit is up on the third floor."

"What's going on here?" Tulio demanded.

"Look, now that I know Aralyne and I are still connected, I've been trying to find a way to break away from her. This morning with Syndrome, something went wrong and I lost control. The pure evil was let loose."

"But, I thought _you_ were pure evil?" Flynn said in confusion.

"Shut up, bonehead, and let me finish!" Siren hissed. "I had the pure evil locked up! I've been tapping into Aralyne's subconscious and taking a bit of her humanity. If I was left to wander about as evil as I was before, I would have killed _many_ Nesidy citizens. That in turn would have made me a threat to society and whether or not Aralyne is the saviour, she and I would have been slaughtered just to keep the peace. I'm doing this to protect my own skin!"

"Why didn't this affect Aralyne this morning?" Tulio demanded.

" _Magic_ , you twit!" Siren snapped at him. "As soon as I felt the pure evil get loose, I quickly cast a spell to keep it from Aralyne's half of our mind! Okay, this area, you see about you? This is _my_ realm! It's the terror, the pain, the loneliness, the destruction! The Aralyne's that guided you here, those are small humanity samples I took from her!"

Finally the crows arrived and together they formed into a giant Aralyne wearing a dress of endless shadows. Unlike the other Aralynes, this new one had completely black eyes like a bottomless pit.

"Hatred shall rule!" Evil said in a cold voice.

"Shit," Siren muttered.

Evil snarled at them. Tulio and Flynn took off running towards the old hospital, but Siren remained where she was. Black energy shot out of Evil's eyes at her, but Siren jumped out of the way. Evil stomped after the men. Right before they reached the hospital's front door, Evil shot another beam, and it missed the men by inches. Siren appeared at their side and used her magic to create a scarlet shield around them.

"Get out of my mind! Now!" Siren said through clenched teeth.

"Not gonna happen," Tulio said, shaking his head.

"Tulio, if you die, no one will bother protecting me!" Siren snapped. Evil shouted in anger, still shooting dark energy at them, breaking Siren's shield. " _Go!_ " Siren shouted, using her magic to push the men towards the hospital's entrance. She jumped into the air and flew around Evil, hitting her with bursts of magic. Finally, Evil struck Siren with black energy, and siren fell. Evil caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Rage shall consume you," Evil sneered.

"Sounds like somebody needs a time out," said Flynn. He had gone back towards the broken angel/demon statue and took the remaining sword. With all of his strength, he threw it up at Evil, and the blade penetrated her eye. Black blood began pouring down her face. Evil screamed in pain, and dropped Siren. Tulio rushed forward and caught Siren in his arms.

"You stayed?" she said in disbelief.

"You didn't think this through, did you?" he asked in slight amusement. "If I had left you here, I wouldn't have been protecting you."

" _FEEL MY FURY!_ " Evil shrieked, using her good eye to shoot dark energy at them. They continuously dodged out of the way.

"Come on!" Siren shouted, grabbing Tulio's hand, and dragging him into the crowd of ghosts with Flynn right behind them. Running through the dead felt like racing through freezing air, and an endless amount of shivers racked through Siren. Evil had lost sight of them, and they took shelter behind a house.

"She's too strong," Siren grumbled, rubbing her arms to ward off the chills from the ghosts. "Even with your help, I cannot defeat her."

"So call for back up," Tulio suggested, "What about all those Aralynes?"

"Yeah, the green one kind of kicked butt," Flynn agreed.

"It still wouldn't be enough," she replied, "None of Aralyne's humanity has the kind of power we need."

"Not alone," said Tulio with a small smile, "but what about together? It doesn't matter if they came from Aralyne. They're all part of who _you_ are!"

Evil was storming around Fort Bayard, blasting buildings apart to locate them. The ghosts seemed unaffected by all of this and continued on their way.

Siren closed her eyes for a moment, and suddenly seven Aralynes appeared before them, each of them wearing something different: orange rags, purple bikini, green camouflage, gray dress, yellow school uniform, pink tutu, and brown armour. Orange Aralyne belched right into Flynn's face, and he took a step away from her; Purple Aralyne winked at Tulio and flashed him a flirtatious smile; Green Aralyne was practicing karate movies; Grey Aralyne was sniffling and rubbing her eyes; Yellow Aralyne was reading a book in her hands; Pink Aralyne was prancing around and singing to herself; and Brown Aralyne stood with hands on hips like a commanding officer.

"Disgusting, Flirty, Brave, Timid, Smart, Happy, and Commanding," Tulio said in amusement.

Siren absorbed every single one of them into her. There was a flash of light, and Siren now stood before them wearing a dark blue outfit similar to Xena's - the Warrior Princess. She rose into the air and flew over to face Evil.

Siren magically bound Evil in silver light, and snarled out, "You are going back where you belong!"

"Never!" Evil hissed, breaking her restraints. The two females shot energy beams at each other, black vs. silver. The two energies connected, and Siren pushed with all her might. The silver light engulfed Evil, and when it faded, Evil shrank down to the size of a doll. Siren smirked and caged Evil in a ball of light. When the light vanished, Siren returned to her scarlet cloak, sighed in exhaustion, and fell over.

"It's okay. I've got you," said Tulio, catching her in his arms.

"Thank you," she said weakly.

"Does this mean you're one of the good guys now?" Flynn asked.

Siren glared at him. "Don't push your luck."

Tulio set her back on her feet, and she led them into the hospital, bypassing even more ghosts there and on the third floor, they found a glowing red portal. Sensing another presence on the other side of the portal, Siren slipped her hand into Tulio's before they all stepped into the scarlet light.

* * *

For a moment, I felt a sense of panic. Siren had just vanished and I had no clue as to where or when she would be back. What if she was out causing some terrible havoc right now somewhere? What was I going to do?

Racing into Tulio's room, I picked up the mirror Siren had dropped, and gazed at my own reflection for a second. A red light suddenly shot out of the glass, and I turned my head so as not to be blinded. When the light disappeared, I blinked up at Flynn, Siren, and Tulio. Startled, I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but then my gaze landed upon Tulio's hand clasped with Siren's. He didn't even seem to mind the contact. A strong surge of jealousy shot through me.

"Aralyne?" he said in slight surprise. Siren smirked at me.

Pursing my lips together, I turned and bolted out of the room, dropping Siren's mirror.

"Aralyne, wait!" Tulio called out, but I ignored him.

I ran out of the house, and made it back to the library. Alyss and Catherine were still there, both of them working now that Jane had died, too. They were startled to see me, especially with how bothered I looked.

"Can we talk, please?" I quietly begged.

The sisters looked at Milo for permission and he waved them off.

"Let's go for a walk," said Catherine, entwining an arm with one of my own. They led me out of the library, and I told them what had happened after I chased after Siren. I even admitted that Siren spending time with Tulio made me incredibly jealous and insecure. By the time I had finished talking, we made it to the Market Place.

"He probably has his reasons for acting differently," Alyss said, "You've just got to trust him."

"Hey, I know what'll make you feel better! Shopping!" Catherine exclaimed. Now taking hold of my hand, she led me deeper into the Market Place.

The three of us stopped at a stall before a purple tent. Ornaments hung from the tent, and an older woman dressed as a Gypsy sat at the entrance. On the stall were the words _Madam Babazita's Mystical Oddities_ , and displayed were a couple of lamps; one was tall and thin, and the other was similar to the one I had found in the Cave of Wonders a year ago.

"A genie in a bottle?" I said aloud, recalling the mess that had happened with Genie and Vlad. I gave Madam Babazita a false smile and added, "I don't think so. Thanks anyway." The sisters and I left the stall, heading towards one selling scarves.

I wasn't really in the mood for shopping and let the girls go at it. Feeling a bit bored, I turned to watch the people passing by. Not far was a stand selling food, one woman spinning cotton candy from a pot for a young boy. A young girl with a blue balloon tied to her wrist was being dragged by the hand by her mother.

The girl watched as the boy received the cotton candy and suddenly shouted out, "Please, Mommy! Please, Mommy! Can I have some cotton candy?! Please, please, please, please?!"

"I think you've had _enough_ sugar today," the mother replied, as they went passed Babazita's tent.

"I want it! I want it! I want it!" the child wailed, reaching out towards the food stall. The string from her balloon wrapped around the lamp I had been looking at, and knocked it off the table.

The lamp shattered into a multitude of tiny shards as green smoke billowed where it had landed.

Madam Babazita and I stood gaping at the billowing green smoke. A green-skinned female genie formed from the smoke, her long black hair blowing in the wind.

I felt a sense of foreboding as the genie said, "And your heart's desire is my command."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The genie flew over towards the food stall, and raised her arm, letting out a torrent of pink cotton candy from the pot. The candy expanded into a tidal wave. People screamed as they braced themselves against the sticky treat that engulfed them. Catherine and Alyss appeared at my side, looking worried, and fighting through the crowd were Flynn, Siren, and Tulio. I quickly averted my gaze from them and focused on the genie before me.

"What's going on?" Alyss inquired.

"Trouble," I muttered, then raced forward.

The genie turned my way, and upon seeing me, said, "I am Desiree. What is your wish?"

"None of your business," I snapped out at her.

Desiree gave me a skeptical look. "Surely there must be something…." She reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey! Get away!" I shouted, pulling out of her grasp. Excalibur, strapped to my back, suddenly shot a beam of green light at her. The light hit her in the chest, and she shrieked as she was knocked back.

She scowled at me before vanishing in a puff of green smoke. The cotton candy stopped moving, but was now left on the ground.

"That was slammin'!" Flynn said running forward to give me a high five. I ignored his raised hand and turned my back on him.

"Looks like I need to have a chat with this Babazita," I muttered, walking towards her stall. Passing by Tulio and Siren, I shot them a dirty look and snapped out, "Clean up this mess." If Siren was going to live here, she was going to work!

The sisters caught up with me right when I got to Babazita's stall, and asked the Gypsy woman about Desiree. Apparently Desiree was a harem girl who had been promised her heart's desire; her own kingdom, only to be banished by the Sultan's jealous wife. She died of a broken heart, and old age. After that her spirit roamed, granting people's deepest desires - but at a great personal cost. Hey, who knew?

After thanking Babazita for the information, the sisters and I began heading back towards the library. I needed to do some research on genies. As we were passing by some of the clean up crew, I saw that Siren was standing off to the side with arms crossed, not doing a thing. I growled in irritation and headed for her.

"I told you to clean this mess up," I snapped at her.

She smirked in amusement. "I don't think so, Sunshine."

Reflexively, my hand shot out to slap her, but Tulio suddenly caught me by the wrist.

"Let me go!" I shouted at him.

"Can we talk?" he inquired.

"No! Now let me go!"

Tulio sighed and released me. With an irritated huff, I turned on my heel and walked on towards the library.

Once the sisters and I were far enough away, I snarled out, "I can't believe he protected her!"

"You did say she was _his_ responsibility," Alyss pointed out and I glared at her.

"He is," I replied, then added in a sarcastic tone, "unless something should happen to Siren. Not that I'd wish _that_."

* * *

Desiree had remained in hiding and watched Aralyne. She smiled evilly, taking advantage of Aralyne's wording.

"Well, she did say _wish_ ," the genie said to herself. She laughed mischievously, her hands glowing pink. Dan Phantom suddenly appeared, and Desiree put him under her control. That was one positive of being a ghost. She was able to control other ghosts. "And we must honour her desire."

* * *

Catherine and Alyss had gone back to work, and I was currently sitting at a table, skimming through _The Arabian Nights_. There were plenty of refrences to genies - or jinni's - in there. So far I hadn't found anything the least bit helpful.

"Aralyne," came Tulio's voice from above me, and I froze, staring at the page uncomprehendingly. My heart started pounding, and I wondered if he could hear it. If I ignored him, would he go away? Of course not... The book was snatched right out of my hands.

"Hey!" I exclaimed and glared up at Tulio. Standing behind him was Aralyne looking bored. I stood and tried taking the book back, but he kept it well out of my reach. I hated being short! "Give it back, Tulio!"

"No," he said firmly, "We need to talk."

"We have _nothing_ -" I jumped for the book, but missed, "to talk about!"

He tossed the book aside onto the table, and when I lunged for it, he caught me by the arms and slammed me into my seat. His face was just inches from mine and I found myself gazing into his clear blue eyes.

"Will you _listen_ to me?!" he snapped, startling me. "You need to tell me what is wrong! Why are you always running off?"

"Why am I even here?" Siren said with such boredom, she sounded like a whiny child. "I've got stuff to do, so I'll be... somewhere else."

"No!" Tulio snapped, not taking his eyes off me. "Stay where you are."

My evil half scowled.

" _That!_ " I said, unshed tears stinging my eyes. " _That's_ what's wrong! It feels like you love her more than me!"

He blinked at me. "Aralyne..."

"You're supposed to be _mine!_ " I said, my voice cracking.

He suddenly swooped in, and surprised me with a kiss. The tears ran down my cheeks as I gave in to him. His hands slid up my arms all the way to my face.

There was a suddenly rumbling, and we broke apart to see everything shaking. Even Siren looked a bit nervous at what was going on. A figure burst down through the ceiling, feet first, causing rubble to rain about us.

We stared at Dan Phantom in horror, his scarlet eyes glowing.

"Danny," I whispered, feeling my heart wrench.

"Oh no," Tulio muttered.

"Oh shit," Siren added.

"Siren!" Phantom sneered.

A shiver ran through me. I expected him to attack all of us, but his focus was primarily on my evil half. He reached out towards her, and she backed away from him.

"Tulio," she said, not taking her eyes off the evil ghost, "My powers are still weakened from earlier.

He swore, and yanked me to my feet, practically throwing me into a book shelf. Tulio then lifted up the chair and slammed it into Phantom's back. "Get away from her!" The chair broke into several pieces. Phantom looked at Tulio, unfazed. With the ghost distracted, he shouted to Siren, " _Run!_ " The villainess took off.

Tulio stood his ground, prepared to fight, but Phantom paid him no mind, and chased after Siren. Something wasn't right. It was like Tulio and I didn't even exist to Danny. We ran after them. Archimedes, Milo, Alyss, and Catherine were all surprised to see us race by, and I didn't even stop to give them an explanation.

Phantom was closing in on Siren, his hand outstretched to grab her. Tulio sped up, determined to stop him. Siren tried fighting the crowds of people towards safety, and for a moment, I was afraid Phantom would hurt someone, but he didn't. He only seemed to have eyes for Siren. She tripped and fell. Right as Phantom was about to grab her, Tulio tackled him from behind.

I skid to a halt and watched with everyone else as the men brawled. They broke apart and the ghost finally had his attention on Tulio. Phantom shot several ghost rays at Tulio, and he dodged all but one. The final ray grazed his arm, causing blood to drip from the wound.

"Aralyne, use Excalibur!" he shouted at me.

"But... Danny," I said, my gaze flickering over to what used to be my best friend. I couldn't destroy him!

Growling in frustration, Tulio ran towards me and snatched Excalibur from my back.

"What?! No! Tulio!" I shouted, trying to get it back, but kept it away from me. With my sword, he shot a green energy beam at Danny, who was knocked back by it.

"All right, Phantom. What do you want?" Tulio demanded, "Who sent you?" So apparently he also noticed something was wrong with the ghost.

Phantom looked worn out, and his gaze landed upon me as he hissed, "Aaaraaalyyyyne…." He suddenly vanished.

With the threat now gone, Tulio turned to Siren and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She scowled and yanked her arm from him. There was no way she was going to seem weak and defenseless in front of the entire Nesidy population.

"Aralyne, what's going on?" Jazz Fenton inquired, coming up beside me. She had the Specter Deflector thrown over her shoulder. I knew she wanted news of her brother.

"I'm not really sure," I replied, then walked up to Tulio and Siren. "Tulio?"

He rounded on me, almost angrily, and I took a step back in surprise.

"Why didn't you fight him?!" he demanded.

My heart lurched at his inquiry, but instead of crying like I wanted to, I firmed my chin, and narrowed my eyes at him. "You can't really blame _me_ for this; can you?" _Especially since it was yours and Siren's fault Danny's like this!_

"Well, it's got something to do with you, but don't worry. I saved Siren, so you don't have to apologize."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Good. 'Cause I'm not gonna." _So much for our intimate moment in the library._

Tulio then moved over to Jazz and took the Specter Deflector from her. She began to protest, but he ignored her. He came up to me and said, "You're just gonna have to wear this Specter Deflector and stay out of the way."

"What?" I said, as he snapped it around my waist. I couldn't take it off either without the key, and I had a feeling Jazz didn't have it on her person at the moment.

"Aralyne, something weird is going on and you're clearly the cause of it," Tulio said, then sighed almost in exhaustion, "It's probably better for all of us if you just lay low."

"You are _unbelievable!_ " I screamed. How could he possibly think that Danny attacking Siren was _my_ fault?!

Speaking of which, the Phantom suddenly returned and snatched Siren off the ground, flying away with her.

" _Tulio!_ "

"Not again," he growled out and added to me, "This is going to have to wait. Stay here."

He took off running after Phantom and Siren, Excalibur still in hand. I stared at his retreating form, steaming.

Despite our kiss just moments ago, I felt as if I was _never_ going to be rid of Sire, and I was losing Tulio in the process. Ignoring what Tulio had told me, I chased after him, but it was to make sure he didn't destroy Danny. He was, after all, still my best friend. I was in time to see Tulio shoot a green energy beam at Danny. It struck the Phantom in the back, and he cried out in pain, dropping Siren. Throwing the sword to the ground, Tulio rushed forward and caught her in his arms.

Setting her on her feet, he shoved her down the road. "Get out of here!"

She ran by me.

Now furious, Phantom turned and headed for Tulio, slamming him backwards into the nearby park. Tulio was shoved all the way into the fountain's stonework. With his ghostly powers, Evil Danny electrocuted Tulio. His screams tore at my heart, and I quickly rushed forward, fresh tears racing down my cheeks.

"Danny, stop! Leave him alone!" I shrieked, wrapping my arms around Phantom's waist. The Specter Deflector did it's job. The ghost was electrocuted, himself, and he dropped Tulio into the fountain.

Phantom pulled away from me, his entire image flickering. "Aaaaraaalyyyyne," he hissed before vanishing once more. This time, I was sure he wouldn't come back for quite a while.

Tulio sat in the fountain, soaking wet, and looking exhausted. He slowly stood up. "Nice save," he said wearily. I took hold of his hand to help him out of the fountain. "Although, to be fair, I probably wouldn't've needed it if it weren't for you in the first place."

I frowned and yanked my hand away. His foot slipped on the stonework, and he fell back into the water. "Excuse me? I save your butt and you're giving me grief?"

"Welcome to my world," he muttered in annoyance.

"Anything else you want to blame me for?" I snapped at him, "World hunger? The ice age? The extinction of dinosaurs?

"Aralyne, when I asked Phantom who sent him to kill Siren, he said _your_ name. He's supposed to be under Siren's control since she made me create him. Either there's another Aralyne involved or it's you." _And let's face it; my name isn't exactly common._

"How about a _thank you_ , huh?" I said, crossing my arms. "You think Siren would've saved your butt back there?"

Tulio stood up again. "She would if she hadn't drained her powers earlier."

"Forget it," I snapped, trying to wipe the tears off my face, but they just kept flowing. "I'm done with you!" Turning on my heel, I raced out of the park.

"Aralyne, wait!"

The tears had blurred my vision, so I couldn't be sure where I was going. Eventually I stopped and surprisingly found myself outside of the Fenton's house. My heart ached at the thought of what my best friend had become.

"Oh, Danny," I muttered, "I'm so sorry! Right now, I wish more than anything that I had never met you." _It would save me all the heartache of losing you and Tulio._

* * *

Desiree had Phantom at her side when she overheard Aralyne's wish. She scowled, knowing she was about to lose her puppet.

With an irritated sigh, she said, "It's not about what I want. It's about what that little girl wants." She turned to Phantom. "And she just wished she never met you!" Raising her hands, she cast the spell. "And so she has wished it, and so it shall _be!_ " The entire world was suddenly engulfed in pink smoke...


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The next morning I woke up feeling really sick. Not like flu sick. I couldn't explain it, but my body felt really off somehow, and I felt starved like I hadn't eaten in days! I noticed that my skin was abnormally pale and placed a hand over my forehead. My skin was cool to the touch, so it wasn't a fever. I turned to wake Alyss and Catherine to see what they thought, but surprisingly found their bed empty. In fact, it looked as if no one slept in that bed for months. Strange. Shaking my head, I rolled out of bed, still wearing the clothes I had worn the previous day. I couldn't exactly change with the Specter Deflector still wrapped around my waist. Stupid belt. Stupid Tulio.

I stumbled over to the bathroom to wash my face, but when I looked into the mirror, I screamed. I was gazing upon a _monster!_ Deathly pale skin that was on the verge of rotting, two large bite marks were on one arm, and the eyes were completely black. It took a second for me to realize that I was staring at my own reflection. _What happened to me?!_

I bent over, and vomitted black blood. That in turn made me even more sick, and I sobbed, hugging myself. One of my hands slid up and into a hole in my ribcage; the _exact same spot_ where Hans had stabbed me. I screamed again. _This couldn't be happening!_

" _Aralyne?!_ "

" _Aralyne!_ "

I turned to see Alyss and Catherine barge into the room, both carrying a sword in hand and looking ready to fight.

"What's going on?" Alyss asked.

" _What happened to me?!_ " I shrieked, now in hysterics.

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked in confusion.

 _How could they not see it?!_ "Why am I like _this?!_ " I gestured down to myself.

"Aralyne did you really forget?" Alyss asked in slight surprise. I noticed neither one of them lowered their weapon. "You're turning into a zombie."

"And your time's nearly up," Catherine quietly added, "You have two weeks left."

 _TURNING INTO A ZOMBIE?!_ Something must have gone wrong somewhere. I couldn't be turning into a zombie! I was completely fine yesterday! And there weren't any zombie attacks recently, either!

"N-No!" I stammered out. "This isn't right! I have to see Grandpa!" I brushed past the sisters, and they came after me.

"Aralyne, wait! You're not allowed by yourself remember? You could attack someone!" Catherine shouted after me.

I raced down the stairs into the dining area, and everyone in there froze, staring at me in fright. When I went for the door, everyone quickly scrambled out of my way. I noticed I was a lot faster than usual, and honestly it would have been cool if it weren't for the fact it was a side effect of turning into a blood-thirsty monster! The sisters were still in hot pursuit behind me, but they weren't fast enough.

Right ast I turned a corner, I suddenly slammed into a warm body. We both stumbled backwards, stunned. For a second, I stared at one of the arms before me, and the hunger I felt intensified. I had a strong urge to bite the arm. In fact, I wanted to tear this person limb from limb and feast on their flesh. _What?! No! I'm not a zombie!_

"Sorry!" I said, finally looking up at the person I bumped into. My jaw dropped as I stared at Danny Fenton, looking very apprehensively at me. It was Danny _Fenton!_ _Alive!_ "D-Danny?" I gasped out. All thoughts of my current physical state were driven from my mind.

"Do I know you?" Danny Fenton asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Danny, it's _me!_ " I said, fresh tears now falling from my eyes. I couldn't say it enough times: Danny _Fenton_ was _alive!_

"No, seriously, do I know you?" he asked, still wary of me.

"Y-You died, remember?" I quietly said, reaching out to touch his face. "You're full ghost now... How are you _alive?!_ "

He suddenly pushed me away. "Look, kid, I don't know who you are or what you're talking about. All I know is, you're on the verge of becoming a zombie and I am outta here!" He transformed into Danny Phantom and flew off. I stared after him.

"Why doesn't he remember me?" I muttered, hugging myself. My hand brushed against the bite marks on my arm and I suddenly remembered...

 _Louis swung his tail at me again, and this time, I was ready. I waited until the last possible moment before slashing my sword. The blade sliced right through his tail, and it landed beside me, turning to dust. With a roar, Louis turned towards me, his jaw snapping. I jumped backwards, but unfortunately, his teeth scraped against my forearm. Hissing in pain, I dropped Excalibur. Louis would have eaten me then and there if Catherine hadn't appeared, dragging me backwards out of harm's way. Tulio then jumped forward, picking up Excalibur and thrust it into the zombie's neck. The alligator exploded into dust._

 _My forearm began to burn as if it were on fire, and the feeling quickly spread throughout my entire body. I screamed at the pain, and collapsed onto the ground, writhing. This hurt a lot worse than when I had been crushed saving Hercules's life! I could hear voices, but couldn't tell who was speaking._

 _"She's been poisoned!"_

 _"We have to do something!"_

 _"Quick! Give her to me!"_

 _"What?!"_

 _"Just do it!"_

 _I was vaguely aware of someone holding me, but I don't know who it was. My vision had faded to nothing, but I was still conscious._

 _"Hold on, Aralyne! Don't you dare die on me, do you understand?!"_

 _I don't know how much time had passed. It could have been hours, or even days, but finally I heard someone say._

"Danny?!"

 _"Zombie poison! Do something! Help her!"_

 _"Here! Belladonna and Hemlock! Get it into her mouth!"_

 _"But, those are poisonous!"_

 _"Do it, or she'll suffer a fate worse than death!"_

I had been bitten by a zombie. I was turning _into_ a zombie. Danny _saved_ me by taking me to Sam.

 _"Right now, I wish more than anything that I had never met you."_

"Oh no," I said aloud, my eyes widening. "Yesterday I wished Danny had never met me. And Desiree must've made it so we never met! Which means he never saved me from turning into a zombie!"

"Aralyne!" Alyss gasped out as she and Catherine finally caught up to me. "There you are!"

"We thought we lost you," Catherine added.

I ignored them and ran in the direction Danny had flown off. "Danny!"

The sisters swore and tried keeping up with me again.

I managed to find him landing in the park and return to his human form. I quickly raced up to him and he was surprised. "You've got to listen to me!" I pleaded. "The reason I'm turning into a zombie right now is because of _you!_ "

"Excuse me?" he said, taking a step back.

"What I mean is, you weren't there to save me! And you would have, because you're my best friend! Why won't you believe to me?"

"Believe what?" he demanded, "That I had died like you claim? You and I are best friends even though I never met you? And you're the only one that knows it?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, "Isn't that crystal clear?"

He continued to give me a highly skeptical look.

I cried out in frustration. "I've gotta do something to get you to listen to me." An idea came to mind. Taking hold of his hand I quietly begged, "Please, Danny, you have to trust me on this. Come with me to the Benbow Inn, and I'll _prove_ it to you." I don't know what made him change his mind, but his expression softened a bit, and he nodded. "Thank you!" I exclaimed before leading him by the hand towards the Benbow Inn. When we got there, I took him upstairs to my room, and went to my dresser. Opening up the drawer, I pulled out a tin box and went to sit on my bed, dumping the contents before me.

Danny hesitantly came forward, and spread the contents out, realizing they were photographs. They were all from my time here in Nesidy. He picked up several with us in them: a picture of a wary Danny looking up at me giving him the bunny-ears; a picture of him giving me a piggy-back ride; a picture of me and Sam throwing water balloons into his face; a picture of us dancing with Jim and Melody; a picture of us making faces at the camera.

He looked up at me in confusion. "Who _are_ you?"

"I'm Aralyne Chanson," I replied. "Two years ago, you and Dani saved me from Ratcliffe, Cortez, and the Sheriff of Nottingham. After that, you and I became friends. A few months ago, your human half died, but your ghost half saved me from zombies. You were later turned evil and tried to kill me. Yesterday I wished we'd never met and the ghost of a genie made it happen!" I lifted up the hem of my shirt some, to show him the Specter Deflector. "I was wearing this, which is why I think I can remember you…. But I don't know what else happened that caused you to be here _alive!_ "

We then heard a voice screech out, "Siren," right before there was a crash that shook the entire building and a familiar scream came from the room next door.

For a moment I was confused. Why would Siren be here? But then I recalled that damn connection we have. If _I'm_ turning into a zombie, then she must be, too! Which means the logical choice would be to keep the both of us close together just in case something went wrong.

" _Siren!_ " I shouted, jumping off the bed and running out of the room. Danny followed me. With abnormal strength (probably due to the fact I was becoming one of the undead), I managed to bust down the door leading into the room beside mine. Danny and I were in time to see a chubby, female version of Freddy Krueger pick up Siren by the throat. Strangely enough, it didn't affect me, or Siren for that matter.

"Dammit! Why isn't Tulio around?!" I muttered. He wouldn't have abandoned Siren, would he?

I rushed forward and grabbed Siren around the waist. Unfortunately, this caused Female Krueger to lift me up into the air, too.

"Danny, a little help here?" I called out.

Danny Fenton transformed into Danny Phantom (how I missed seeing that!), and shot ghost rays at Female Krueger. The monster screamed, dropping us females to the ground.

"Who's the kid?" Siren inquired as we watched Danny fight Female Krueger.

I stared at my evil half in disbelief. "That's _Danny Fenton/Phantom!_ You know, my _best friend_ , the one you _killed!_ " I snarled out at her. If it wasn't for the fact that I could potentially harm myself, I would have strangled her and done a lot more than that for what she had done to Danny.

"Sunshine, I think I would have remembered you being close to the runt. Besides, do you honestly think I would have let him live if he _was_ your best friend?"

I slapped her across the face and instantly regretted it. My own cheek was stinging.

I finally looked up to see Danny suck up Female Krueger into his Fenton Thermos. _She was a ghost?_

Once Danny was through, he returned to our side, transforming back into Danny Fenton. I wanted to cry at the sight of it.

"Me saving you: does that happen a lot?" he inquired hauling me up to my feet.

"More than you remember," I replied with a grin.

"And your twin?" he asked, looking over at Siren.

She scowled up at him as she climbed to her feet.

"She's literally my evil twin," I said, "You normally save me _from_ her, but right now we're both in danger, so she won't do anything to harm _either_ of us." I shot her a warning look and her scowl deepened. Good. As long as she left Danny alone this time, we wouldn't have any problems.

"Okay, you got my attention," Danny said.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, still holding onto his hand. "Come on!" I dragged him out of the destroyed room, bypassing others that had heard the commotion, and quickly moved away from me. Whatever, I had more important things to think about now that the Danny I knew and loved was back!


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

I had dragged Danny all the way to the library, and I wasn't exactly welcomed in there in my current state, but Danny had assured Archimedes and Milo that I wouldn't get out of hand. We were in the back looking through books on alternate time lines and such. There had to be something that would help me turn back to normal!

"So now what?" Danny inquired after a couple of hours of reading. He sounded really bored and I wanted to tell him our friendship wasn't normally this dull, but I knew he just had to help me. He was the key somehow.

"I don't know. I'm –" I started, looking up at him, but my gaze landed upon something else. On the shelf behind him was _The Arabian Nights_ tales. That's it! Desiree was the one responsible for this, so it only made sense that she would fix this! "Oh, I'm so _stupid!_ " I muttered, slamming the book shut. "The answer isn't _here_ , but out _there_ somewhere! We have to find Desiree!"

"Who?" he asked in confusion.

"The genie ghost!" I explained. "Fly us out of here!"

Danny took hold of my hand, and turned into Phantom before flying us out of the library. It didn't take us very long to find the ghost we were looking for. She was granting another wish – Jim Hawkins wanted a new solar surfboard.

"That's her!" I exclaimed, pointing her out to my friend. He set me down on the ground not far from where she was. "All right, Danny. Do your thing. Fight her, and remember, don't make a wish!"

"Okay," he said, sounding a little unsure. I couldn't really blame him. All of this must have been so sudden for him.

Desiree was laughing evilly (I don't want to know what she did to that solar surfboard), looking exceptionally tall. Suddenly, the bushes I stood next two , grew and became animated, wrapping their shrub arms around me. I tried breaking free of their grip, but even with my zombie-like strength, I couldn't get loose.

"Who the heck wished for evil plants?" I demanded.

No one, actually. Turns out, Desiree had seen us and decided to have me bound. She looked at Danny in mild surprise.

"You? You're back? But how?" Desiree inquired.

Danny gave her a confused look for a moment before shaking his head and frowning. He faced his palm towards her and shot her with a ghost ray. The genie screamed as she was knocked away by the ectoplasmic energy blast.

Regaining her composure, Desiree quickly returned and swatted Danny away with the back of her hand. He grunted in pain as he flew backwards, landing on the ground and bouncing to a halt before me.

He got up on one foot, his hand on his knee. Desiree's giant hand suddenly smashed him into the earth.

" _Danny, no!_ " I screamed, not believing that I was about to lose him so soon after getting him back.

Desiree's free hand glowed pink with magic as she held it up to the sky. A purple and green dragon popped into existence above the rooftops of Nesidy, and beside it a giant pink bat. A green Cyclops materialized and began rampaging through the city. More horrifying monsters began to appear all over the place.

Danny shot out from under the genie's hand, intangible. She scowled at him, her hand forming into a sledgehammer.

"Oh, this is all my fault," I fretted. I didn't want to see Danny get defeated by this evil genie. "I wish I had never made that stupid wish!" I gasped in realization. "And she's granting every single wish she hears." Raising my voice, I shouted, "I wish you had never granted my wish of not meeting Danny, and that he never died or became evil, but remembers everything that happened today!"

The sledgehammer morphed back into Desiree's hand and it glowed as she exclaimed, "So you have wished it… and so it shall be!"

A pink fog suddenly surrounded everything, and I couldn't see beyond the shrubs holding me captive. For a moment, I watched in fascination as my skin tone became a bit darker so it wasn't deathly white and the gnawing hunger I ignored the entire day vanished. The bite marks on my arm shrank, one becoming a scar, and the other disappearing completely.

When the fog dissipated, I saw Danny smirking as he held the thermos pointed at Desiree. It was charged with blue energy.

Desiree realized what was happening and yelled, "No! No! Noooooo!" right before being sucked into the Fenton Thermos. Danny capped the container once she was gone. All of the monsters she created vanished (as did Jim's new solar surfboard). The bushes that held me down were no longer animated, and I broke free. I ran and threw my arms around him.

" _Danny!_ "

I sobbed into his chest, grateful to have him back.

He lifted me up into his arms and we flew away over Nesidy, returning to the Benbow Inn. We went directly into my room (intangible, of course), and he stayed with me as Danny _Fenton_ until I had calmed down.

Once I had stopped crying, he gave me a small smile and said, "I never realized how different my life would have been if I hadn't met you. I gotta say, it's sorta cool to know."

"Sorry for altering the timeline in the first place," I sniffled, wiping my eyes dry, "Can you forgive me?"

"So you have wished it, so shall it be," he said, brushing hair out of my face. I grinned and gave him another hug.

The door to my room suddenly burst open, and we pulled apart to see Alyss and Catherine standing in the doorway.

"Hey, guys! Did you hear Siren had been attacked by another monster again?" Alyss inquired.

"Really?" I asked feigning innocence, exchanging a knowing look with Danny.

"Yeah, it broke right into Tulio's house, but he kicked it's butt," Catherine added.

They then told us in full detail what had happened.

* * *

With absolutely nothing to do for the past couple of weeks (now that my boyfriend ditched me for Siren) I spent my free time from my Queenly duties and kitchen duties hanging out in the library with Alyss and Catherine. Honestly, it felt good to just sit and read and not be bothered by anything for a couple of hours.

Right as I left the library with an armload of books, I turned a corner and smacked right into someone, dropping my books.

"Sorry, I- Oh. Hey, Tulio," I said nervously, tucking a stray curl behind my ear. I was glad to see he was Siren-free! We both bent down to gather up the books.

"Hey, yourself," he replied, "So, how's it going? I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Tulio, we agreed to keep things strictly professional between us, remember?" I said.

"I don't remember being part of that agreement," he said in confusion, handing me the last of my books. Okay, so _I_ decided that the last time I had snapped at him.

"I'm sorry. Really. But this is the way it has to be. I'll, uh, see you around, okay?" I said, straightening up and quickly walking away. I hoped he didn't notice that I had taken off that dream charm he gave me. I really didn't want to talk to him; not even in my dreams.

I was nearly to the Benbow Inn when Grandpa had intercepted me. "Aralyne, I have found the location of another Aztec skull."

Oh, right... The skulls... I had forgotten about those.

"Siren doesn't know, does she?" I inquired, looking about to make sure my evil side wasn't anywhere nearby listening in.

"I don't belive so, but you'd better go retrieve it before she does find out about it," said Grandpa. "It's hidden in a crevice at the top of a mountain about a mile north from here."

I nodded, and went around him, entering the Benbow Inn to deposit my books on my bed and get Excalibur.

Once I had left the Benbow Inn, I had asked Danny for his help (I just couldn't help spending as much time with him as possible). In his Phantom form, he flew us out to the mountains north of Nesidy, and from up above, we were able to search the crevices a lot faster. After a few minutes, however, we spotted a small ninja-like figure perched at the tip of a cliff, a sword in hand. The figure swiped their sword at the crevice, and the crystal Aztec skull dropped into the person's hands. Of course, there would be someone after it as well. The question was who? Which villain was still after the skulls?

"Excellent," the ninja hissed aloud, unaware of my best friend and me, "Once all thirteen skulls are united, I'll finally have the power to wipe heroes from the face of the earth."

"I don't think so," I said as Danny flew us closer to the cliff. I snatched the skull from the ninja's hand. We started flying away, when the figure latched onto my ankle and yanked me right out of Danny's grasp. I dropped the skull, and it skid across the cliff, while I began falling towards the ground - several hundred feet below me. Danny did a quick U-turn in the air and came back for me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He transported us right back to the cliff's edge. The tiny ninja was running after the skull.

Danny shot an ectoblast at the ninja, but the mysterious figure was quick and smart. They dodged out of the way, leaving a smoking hole in the face of the mountain. I raced forward, and wrapped my arms around the ninja from behind, hoping to trip them, but the ninja simply reached back, and flipped me over their head, slamming me into the mountain's side.

"Don't make me hurt you," the ninja snarled out, pointing its sword at me.

"What makes you think you can?" I retorted, kicking out and knocking the ninja over. I quickly scrambled over to the skull and grabbed it. "Danny, let's go!" He grabbed hold of me and we flew off the cliff, the ninja swearing at us.

"Who was that?" my best friend inquired.

"No clue," I replied, but I had a bad feeling as to what the future would hold.

When we returned to Nesidy, we went straight to Grandpa's house and told him what had happened. He was just as curious as I was as to who the new villain might be. While he opened up the secret safe, I studied the skull in my possession. It was an exact replica of the others I had gotten.

"So how exactly do these skull thingies work again?" I inquired, glancing up at Grandpa.

He took the skull from me and replied, "Whoever possesses all thirteen is granted one irreversible wish."

"And if the villains gets their mitts on 'em, ten bucks says they ain't wishin' for a collection of 70s soft-rock hits," Danny Fenton muttered, standing right behind me.

"So why don't we just destroy the three we have and be done with it?" I demanded, watching Grandpa put the new skull with the others and closing the safe.

"The skulls only work when all thirteen are together, and they can only be destroyed when all thirteen are together," Grandpa explained, "When it is safe, we will collect the rest of the skulls."

"Then we'll destroy 'em, and bingo, bango, bazingo, the villains' master plan is flushed down the master can," I said.

* * *

Siren had returned to Tulio's house without him even knowing she had left in the first place. She tore off the ninja outfit she wore, and threw her sword into a corner of the bedroom, fuming. Picking up her magic mirror, she transported herself inside, finding herself in the destroyed version of Aralyne's world. Bypassing all of the crumbling buildings, she went straight for _Fleming Hall_ , the haunted building of the university. She was pretty sure that while Flynn and Tulio were here, they didn't do much exploring, especially since they had been running for their lives.

Instead of taking the stairs up or down, she walked right past them, and entered a part of the museum that held dozens upon dozens of ancient pottery work. She strolled right up to the largest ceramic bowl and peered inside at the ten Aztec Crystal Skulls she had collected. She was lucky that none of the heroes paid her much attention - that gave her an ample amount of time to do research to locate the skulls and to vanish for hours on end to retrieve them. And she still returned before anyone discovered what she had been up to.

"These ten skulls are useless to me without the other three!" she snarled out. With a cry of rage, she picked up one of the smaller ceramic bowls, and threw it across the room. It shattered into a million pieces. The ghost of a little boy in the upper floors began crying, terrified of her wrath.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

 _(Song in this chapter is "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion.)_

The next day, I had gotten the help of Milo, Adam, Alyss, Catherine, Danny, and Sam to help me locate the rest of the crystal skulls. The seven of us were in the library, Milo having closed the building for the day, and giving Archimedes the rest of the day off. We occupied several tables and browsed through tons of books, looking for anything we could on the skulls.

Sometime around noon, Tulio showed up, looking a bit apologetic.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but Lao Shi would like to see Aralyne in his office immediately?" he said, sounding a bit uncertain. I gave him a questioning look, but he refused to say any more.

With a sigh, I rose from my chair and told my friends, "I'll be back," before leaving with Tulio. Again, I was pleased to see that he was Siren-free.

"What does he want to see me about?" I inquired when we left the library. We had only gone a couple of yards when Tulio took hold of my hand.

"He doesn't. I only used that as an excuse to get you alone. Come with me?"

"Tulio, I can't. I'm very busy -"

"Please?" he begged, cutting me off.

I gazed into his piercing blue eyes and felt my knees go weak. My head bobbed once.

With a relieved smile, he led me out of town, and to our lagoon with the water fall. At the edge of the water was a blanket covered with food.

"Tulio, what is this?" I quietly asked.

"A picnic. I did this for you."

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them back. No! I wasn't going to cry! Not in front of him! "Thank you," I managed to choke out. He led me to the blanket and we sat down to eat. Cold chicken, salad, bread, cheese cubes, and blueberries. Damn him! He knew he'd get me with the blueberries! I ate more of the mini fruit than the other food.

We were silent for a while until he finally said, "How have you been?"

"Okay," I said with a shrug, "No major villain schemes so far. I can't complain."

"But?" he persisted, knowing there was more I wanted to say.

I sighed and replied, "I just... I want a normal life. A life where I don't have to worry about giant snakes or magical skulls, or-"

"Aralyne, listen. After this Siren business is over, I think it's time for you to leave Incantationen. For good. Return to your world."

"Tulio, I can't. I've been here too long and experienced so much that this place is now a part of me. Besides, I'm Queen of Incantationen. I can't just abandon it."

We were silent once more and after we finished lunch, he took me back to the library. I didn't tell my friends what had happened.

Shortly after I went back to my books, I gasped in pain, and watched in horror as a cut appeared on my hand, blood pouring onto the table….

* * *

Tulio returned to his house, where he found Siren waiting for him in the living room with arms folded across her chest.

"Tulio," she said with narrowed eyes. "How nice of you to take time out of your busy social life to come back to me."

"What?" he said in confusion.

"I have a little job for you. You shall use your dark training to betray your precious girlfriend and bring me the remaining three skulls in her possession."

 _Remaining? Does that mean she had somehow collected the other ten?_ He snarled at her, "I'm not going to betray her. Not again."

"Oh, but you will," she said with an evil sneer, "You see, there is still that pesky connection between her and me. Of course, I can't kill her without killing myself, but that doesn't mean I still can't physically torture her."

"You wouldn't do that," he replied.

"Oh?" Siren said, arching up an eyebrow. She made a dagger materialize in her grasp. Holding out her free hand, she sliced her palm wide open, wincing. Blood instantly began pouring out of the wound, falling to the floor in a steady stream. "Now I know she felt that." The villainess then healed her hand, and blood vanished. "Aralyne, however, doesn't have powers to heal herself like I can. She'll be safe from me as long as you do exactly as I say and bring me those skulls."

Tulio growled.

* * *

Lao Shi had been thinking about the skulls all day and had a feeling something awful was about to happen. Leaving his office at City Hall, he headed back to his home as quickly as possible to make sure the skulls were okay. Right as he rounded a corner, he stopped in his tracks in horror. The door to his house was broken off its hinges and lay shattered on the ground.

"No," he muttered. He raced forward, entering his house. Everything was thrown about as if someone had been looking for something. He ran straight for his library and found that the safe had been blasted open, the Aztec Crystal Skulls gone. Lao Shi checked his magical security system, and watched what had happened, a grim look crossing his face.

* * *

Tulio and Siren stuck to the shadows as they made their way through Nesidy. The villainess held a skull, examining it. The others she had put in her magic mirror, which she kept inside her cloak pocket.

"I gave you your skulls, now leave Aralyne alone," Tulio said.

"Not until my plan is complete," she replied, slipping the skull into her cloak pocket with the mirror.

"What? But you promised!" he said in outrage.

"And you promised your allegiance to me," she pointed out. They finally stopped before a large building, and Siren stared up at it with an evil grin.

"The Pantheon Building?" Tulio asked in confusion.

* * *

The sudden cut on my hand had startled me, obviously, but I figured Siren had accidentally hurt herself. My friends wrapped my hand up with bandages, so I was fine. After that was done, Grandpa arrived looking angry and worried.

"Aralyne," he said, "Siren broke into my house and took the skulls!"

I gaped at him in mild disbelief. _How did she know where to look?!_

"Say what?" Alyss said, "She's got the power to annihilate us! All of us!"

"Well, not exactly. According to my research, the skulls only work if they're inserted into something called the _Gargoyles of Pantheon_ ," Milo said, pointing to a page in the book before him. He then turned the page and paled. "The Pantheon building!"

Adam swore. "That's a couple blocks away from here!"

"There's something else," Grandpa said, "Tulio led Siren to my house. He gave her the skulls."

My stomach knotted up, and I dropped the book in my hands. It landed on the table with a _thunk_.

"Aralyne, are you okay?" Catherine quietly asked.

"We have to go," I said, getting to my feet. Without waiting for the others, I ran out of the library, heading straight for the Pantheon building. I had only gone a block, when Danny Phantom showed up with Sam in one arm. With his free arm, he scooped me up, and we flew towards our destination. Surrounding us was Grandpa in his dragon form, Adam and Milo on his back; and Alyss and Catherine were bluebirds. In a manner of seconds, we arrived to the top of the Pantheon building. Standing before us was Tulio and Siren, each holding a skull, the other eleven were already set into the gargoyles surrounding the roof.

Danny set me on my feet, and I locked eyes with Tulio. "So it's true," I quietly said.

He frowned and averted his gaze. "Aralyne. I'm sorry."

Siren smiled triumphantly and said, "Before I wish for the annihilation of you heroes, any last words?"

I grit my teeth and launched myself at Siren, reaching for the skull in her grip. We wrestled for it, until I managed to her over my shoulder, sending her flying. Unfortunately, I lost my hold on the skull as well. It skid across the roof.

Siren landed on her back, hard. I winced as my own back suddenly hurt. I quickly scrambled towards the rolling crystal skull, which unfortunately came to stop at Tulio's feet. He picked it up, and looked at me.

Siren got to her feet. My friends headed for her, but she blasted them back with magic. A dagger materialized in her hand. "Tulio, hand me the skull, and put the other in the gargoyle." He hesitated, still staring at me. "If you don't, I'll hurt her. Now, do as I say!"

"I'm sorry," he said to me before he tossed one of the skulls to Siren and jammed the other skull into the mouth of the last gargoyle. All of them started to glow an eerie light.

" _There were nights when the wind was so cold  
That my body froze in bed  
If I just listened to it  
Right outside the window"_

I watched helplessly as a magical band now shot out of the gargoyles, creating a glowing perimeter around the building. "Please, Tulio. Don't do this," I begged.

He turned away from me and walked with Siren to the center of the rooftop.

" _There were days when the sun was so cruel  
That all the tears turned to dust  
And I just knew my eyes were  
Drying up forever"_

"Well done, Tulio," Siren said gleefully. She held her skull in the air. It glowed, and a mystical band of energy connected it to the others. "By the Pantheon of Aztec skulls, I hereby wish for –"

Tulio suddenly attacked Siren. The skull flew out of her grasp into the air. He threw her to the ground with such force that she smacked her head against the floor, and she moved no more. At the same time, a sharp pain ran across my skull, and I blacked out for a second. Well, I wasn't dead, so I guess neither was Siren. Tulio caught the skull.

"I wish for Aralyne to have her memory back."

" _I finished crying in the instant that you left  
And I can't remember where or when or how  
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made"_

The light struck me and I froze as an onslaught of visions hit me – every memory I've ever had about Tulio came back. I stared at him for a brief moment, mouth slightly open, and tears welling up in my eyes. My heart tore as I recalled how many times I was annoyed with him for always being around; for yelling at him to leave me alone; for forgetting him in the first place. I know that last one wasn't my fault, but it still hurt.

Tulio and I locked gazes for a second – and I turned and ran. I ran from him, from everyone. If I stayed, I was going to break down. As of now, I was fighting back hysterical sobs. I raced into the Pantheon building, and stumbled the nearest staircase until I reached the bottom. After leaving the building, I raced through Nesidy, the tears now blurring my vision. I kept on running, even after my chest and legs hurt from the exertion. Finally, I stopped and blinked, startled to find myself standing right outside Tulio's house.

 _"But when you touch me like this  
And you hold me like that  
I just have to admit  
That it's all coming back to me  
When I touch you like this  
And I hold you like that  
It's so hard to believe but  
It's all coming back to me  
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)"_

With a small hiccup, I rushed to a bush and fell to my knees. In slight desperation, I tore through the earth, getting covered in mud until my fingers fumbled over a brass key. Getting back to my feet, I unlocked Tulio's front door and went inside. I had left the door open, but I didn't care. Walking through the home, I recalled every moment I've ever spent here with him. My feet eventually took me to his room – I guess it was Siren's room, now. Now sobbing, I sat on the edge of the bed.

* * *

Tulio watched Aralyne leave, and he wanted to chase after her, but he knew she needed time to process what had just happened. Not to mention all of the memories she had just received. He knew she remembered by the expression on her face. She looked a tad ashamed and in shock, but that wasn't her fault.

" _There were moments of gold  
And there were flashes of light  
There were things I'd never do again  
But then they'd always seemed right  
There were nights of endless pleasure  
It was more than any laws allow  
Baby Baby"_

Sensing the others watching him, he turned to them. The looked as if they were expecting him to do something more.

"Lock up Siren," he said, nodding down at her, "Before she hurts anyone else."

"The crystals," Catherine said.

Tulio threw the crystal skull he held to the ground, shattering it into a million pieces. The magical beam broke, and the other skulls exploded. "Consider them destroyed." He walked off without another word, intending to go home.

Why didn't he wish for Siren to disappear? Well, because he didn't know how that would affect Aralyne. He left the Pantheon building and headed to his house.

* * *

" _If I kiss you like this  
And if you whisper like that  
It was lost long ago  
But it's all coming back to me  
If you want me like this  
And if you need me like that  
It was dead long ago  
But it's all coming back to me  
It's so hard to resist  
And it's all coming back to me  
I can barely recall  
But it's all coming back to me now  
But it's all coming back"_

I don't know how long I sat there, but I suddenly heard footsteps and a voice say, "Aralyne?"

Blinking through my tears, I looked up to see Tulio standing in the doorway, a look of astonishment on his face.

"T-Tulio," I managed to choke out.

He closed the distance between us and knelt before me. Reaching out, he wiped the tears from my face as best he could, but they just kept coming.

 _"There were those empty threats and hollow lies  
And whenever you tried to hurt me  
I just hurt you even worse  
And so much deeper"_

"I'm sorry," I moaned, staring at him. "I'm so, so sorry. For everything I did, for everything I said. I didn't mean any of it!"

"Shh. Hey, it's okay. It wasn't your fault," he quietly said. He brushed a curl out of my face.

I leaned forward, throwing my arms around him, and kissed him hungrily. At first he was startled, but he kissed me back. I couldn't seem to get enough of him, and kept pulling him closer, a burning need coursing through me. His hands slid down to my waist, and I was vaguely aware of him pushing me back onto the bed.

 _"There were hours that just went on for days  
When alone at last we'd count up all the chances  
That were lost to us forever_

 _But you were history with the slamming of the door  
And I made myself so strong again somehow  
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then_

 _But if I touch you like this_  
 _And if you kiss me like that_  
 _It was so long ago_  
 _But it's all coming back to me_  
 _If you touch me like this_  
 _And if I kiss you like that_  
 _It was gone with the wind_  
 _But it's all coming back to me_  
 _(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)_

 _There were moments of gold_  
 _And there were flashes of light_  
 _There were things we'd never do again_  
 _But then they'd always seemed right_  
 _There were nights of endless pleasure_  
 _It was more than all your laws allow_  
 _Baby, Baby, Baby_

 _When you touch me like this_  
 _And when you hold me like that_  
 _It was gone with the wind_  
 _But it's all coming back to me_  
 _When you see me like this_  
 _And when I see you like that_  
 _Then we see what we want to see_  
 _All coming back to me_  
 _The flesh and the fantasies_  
 _All coming back to me_  
 _I can barely recall_  
 _But it's all coming back to me now_

 _If you forgive me all this_  
 _If I forgive you all that_  
 _We forgive and forget_  
 _And it's all coming back to me_  
 _When you see me like this_  
 _And when I see you like that_  
 _We see just what we want to see_  
 _All coming back to me_  
 _The flesh and the fantasies_  
 _All coming back to me_  
 _I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now"_


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Prince Alcott of the Southern Isles had almost forgotten he had been trying to start a war between Guilder and Nesidy. His original plan was that both places would ask for his help and he would destroy both from the inside out until he ruled over them. Now, on the other hand, he knew that Queen Aralyne resided in Nesidy, so that changed everything. All he needed was to have the little trollop in his possession. It looked like he would have to do everything himself.

* * *

It had been a week since my memories have returned, and I had moved back in with Tulio in his house. At first I was worried Siren would try to make us miserable, but he had told me not to worry about her. We weren't going to see her for quite a while.

Right now Tulio was with me on one of my patrols around the forest. I had expanded my perimeters even further than last time and had gone to the very edge of the Fire Swamp. As we strolled past, I looked at the swamp and shivered. The R.O.U.S.'s, spurts of fire, and lightning sand worse than quick sand. Tulio slipped his hand into mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. If it hadn't been for him, I would have died in there.

We were silent as we made our way around the forest, when two dozen men rode up to us on horseback. We both froze as we stared at the leader of troupe. I hadn't seen Prince Alcott in such a long time, and my anger towards him and his family rose.

"Tulio," said Alcott, surprise flashing across his face. My companion tensed up, and stood before me as a shield, holding his sword out.

That's right! I had forgotten they're brothers, and it seemed that Tulio hated Alcott as much as he hated Hans. Strange. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that Tulio's actually a prince!

"What do you want, Alcott? Why are you here?" I demanded.

"I want you," Alcott said. I should have seen that coming. I had forgotten the plot to marry me for power. "Surrender!"

"You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept," said Tulio, his hold on my hand tightening.

"I give you full marks for bravery. Don't make yourself a fool," the oldest Prince snapped at us.

Tulio shot a glance at the swamp not far from us and said, "Ah, but how will you capture us? We know the secrets of the Fire Swamp. We can live there quite happily for some time, so whenever you feel like dying, _brother_ , feel free to visit."

"I tell you once again, surrender!" Alcott shouted, and I noticed the soldiers he brought with him held crossbows. I hadn't taken Excalibur off my back, but right now I doubted it would do much good. Tulio and I were outnumbered.

"It will not happen," Tulio growled out. I don't know if he noticed the danger we were in, but he seemed determined to protect me, no matter what.

"For the last time, surrender!" exclaimed Alcott.

" _Death first!_ " Tulio roared.

I had to do something and fast! I blurted out, "Will you promise not to hurt him?"

"What was that?" Alcott said in surprise.

"What was that?" Tulio repeated, turning to me.

I pulled out of Tulio's grasp, and stepped towards the vile older Prince. "If we surrender and I return with you, will you promise not to hurt Tulio?"

"May I live a thousand years and never hunt again," Alcott swore.

Removing Excalibur from my back, I handed it to Tulio.

"Aralyne, what are you doing?" he hissed out at me.

"I thought you were dead once and it almost destroyed me. I could not bear it if you died again, not when I could save you," I replied. Jumping up and throwing my arms around his neck, I whispered, "I'll be waiting for you!"

Alcott came and yanked me from Tulio's grasp, plopped me onto his horse before him, and rode away. I knew leaving Excalibur behind was stupid, but who knew what else Alcott had schemed up. If he had my sword, we would all be doomed! At least I knew it would be safe with Tulio."

I gazed back at Tulio for the last time, and saw one of the soldiers knock him out cold with the hilt of a sword. I started scream, and was about to leap off the horse, but Alcott kept a firm hold on me, and placed a handkerchief over my face. A sickly sweet scent overpowered me, and I knew no more.

* * *

Tulio woke up to find he was still in the forest, and it was dark. His head was pounding from when he had been hit. He panicked, remembering what had happened before he lost consciousness.

"Aralyne!" he groaned, sitting up. Looking around, the found the area empty, which meant they had gone hours ago. And even worse, Excalibur was missing! Slowly, Tulio climbed to his feet and headed towards Nesidy as swiftly as he could. Time seemed to have slowed down as he only thought about Aralyne and what danger she might be in at that very moment. Eventually, he made it to Nesidy, but instead of running towards Danny Fenton or Lao Shi, he went straight for the jail.

Phoebus was guarding the prisoners and was somewhat surprised to see the visitor.

"Tulio, wha-?"

"I need to see Hans!" Tulio cut him off. "Now! It's an emergency!"

Phoebus nodded, and allowed Tulio into the jail. Tulio ran past the other villains, which glared at him from the darkness, but he ignored them all. Reaching his brother's cell, he gripped the bars.

"Hans!"

"Why, if it isn't my big brother descending from on high to mingle with the prisoners," Hans said with a sneer. The youngest prince of the Southern Isles looked a mess. His hair was slightly longer than usual, disheveled, and his clothes were torn.

In the cell beside his, a pair of scarlet eyes glowed in the dark, watching Tulio's every move.

"Cut the crap, Hans! What does Alcott want with Aralyne?" Tulio demanded.

"What?" Hans said, blinking at his older brother. He suddenly rushed to the bars. "What did he do to her?"

"He just ook her, now answer me!" Tulio shouted.

With a look of deep disgust, Hans replied, "It was Mother's idea. Force Aralyne to marry one of us so that our family can rule Incantationen through her."

Tulio swore. "I have to go save her, but I don't know what to do! He even took Excalibur."

"I can help," Siren said, stepping forward from the darkness. She was in a special cell that diluted her powers to practically nothing so she wouldn't escape.

"Why would I accept help from you?" Tulio snarled out at her.

"Because I can save her, and in exchange, I want to be free from this prison, _permanently_ and walk around like before," Siren replied.

"Forget it. You're not leaving this place," Tulio snapped.

Siren's eyes narrowed. "They're using magic on her. I can feel it. And if it continues, you will lose her."

Tulio growled, staring off into space as he thought of a plan. With a cry of rage, he slapped the cell's bars and stormed out.

* * *

King Eadric had died, and before dawn, Alcott and I were married. And at noon, I met my subjects not only as Queen of Incantationen, but also Queen of the Southern Isles.

Alcott addressed the crowd from a balcony, "My father's final words were: _Love her as I loved her and there will be joy_. I present to you your Queen, Queen Aralyne!"

I entered the crowd in an elegant sky blue dress. Everyone bowed, except for one ancient woman.

"Boo! Boo! Boo!" she cried, scowling at me.

"Why do you do this?" I quietly asked her.

"Because you had love in your hands, and you gave it up," she reprimanded me, and I cringed.

"But they would have killed Tulio if I hadn't done it," I protested. I had done this to save Tulio!

"Your true love lives! And you marry another," she yelled, then addressed the crowd, "True Love saved her time and again, and she treated it like garbage. And that's what she is, the Queen of Refuse. So bow down to her if you want, bow to her. Bow to the Queen of Slime, the Queen of Filth, the Queen of Putrescence. Boo! Boo! Rubbish! Filth! Slime! Muck! Boo! Boo! Boo!"

I gasped, and opened my eyes to find I was lying on a table in a dark room. My face was wet with tears when I realized it had all been a dream; a terrible, terrible dream. I tried sitting up, but found I was strapped to the table, and I wiggled around to see if I could get loose. Nothing. Looking around, I spotted a circular window in the room. From outside, I could see it was the crack of dawn, and at the bottom edge of the window were waves lulling by. I guessed I was on a ship headed towards the Southern Isles. Damn!

At that moment, Alcott entered the room along with Kit and Thomas.

"How's our Queen doing this morning?" Thomas asked with a sneer, "Have a lovely dream?"

I scowled up at the three princes. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of them seeing me helpless.

"Oh, you were crying," said Kit, reaching out to wipe the left over tears from my face. _Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!_ "Don't worry. I can make you feel _much_ better." His hand carressed my face, and slowly traced down my neck to the area between my breasts. I shivered at his touch, and realized I was wearing a somewhat revealing white dress.

"Leave her, Kit," Alcott ordered, and the second oldest brother pulled away from me. Alcott observed me and said, "Don't even think about trying to escape, Aralyne. The chains are far too thick. And don't dream of being rescued, either." From behind his back, he pulled out Excalibur and I gaped at it in disbelief.

I swallowed and said. "What? Do you plan on killing me?"

"Not yet, you stupid girl," Alcott said, "It's odd, but when I hired Vizzini to have someone from Nesidy be murdered, I thought that was clever. But I never imagined it would be _you_ of all people that got mixed up in all this. It's going to be so much more moving when I murder you on our wedding night. Because the moment you say _I do_ , I will be _King_ of Incantationen."

"I said, I would go with you. I never said I would marry you," I pointed out. "And you can't make me either!"

"Oh, can't I?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow. I didn't like the evil smile he gave me. Alcott reached out and roughly grabbed hold of my chin, so that I was unable to move my head. He forced me to gaze into his brown eyes. For a second, I caught a glimpse of Excalibur glowing an eerie magenta, but then the light surrounded the Prince, and made his eyes glow unnaturally. Everything else seemed to have faded from my vision. "You're going to marry me, Aralyne, to ensure I become King of Incantationen."

"Yes," I replied quietly, my mind feeling fuzzy.

The light faded from Alcott and his eyes returned to normal, making me feel disoriented. _What just happened?_

"How do you know the spell is still going to work?" Thomas inquired.

"Are you going to marry me, Aralyne?" the oldest brother inquired.

 _Hell no!_

"Yes," I blurted out.

The realization of what happened suddenly hit me, and I was filled with horror. _Excalibur has the power to CONTROL people?!_ That was one thing I hoped Siren – or any of the other villains, for that matter – never discovers, or it would be the end of Incantationen as we knew it!

"With that kind of power, we can make her do _anything_ ," Kit said with a sick smile, making me shiver. I didn't know who was worse: him or Gaston.

"We can, but this kind of power is draining," Alcott replied, stowing Excalibur away on his back. "Besides, it can easily be broken, as well. I have something else in mind just to double make sure she doesn't go back on her word."

"What can be worse than this?" I quietly asked.

Alcott sneered. "I'm glad you asked. You'll never say no to someone you love."

"You can't force someone to fall in love!" I snapped at him. And there was no way in _hell_ I'd fall for any of the Princes from the Southern Isles – well, except for Tulio, of course.

"I beg to differ," said Alcott, "Magic seems to do it all the time. Once I give you a little bit of _Love Potion_ , you'll fall in love with the first man you kiss, which will be me!"

I felt sick, and wanted to cry. This really couldn't be happening!

"Now, Aralyne, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Answer correctly and you won't be punished," the eldest prince continued.

"Punished?" I repeated. They couldn't kill me just yet, so what could be worse than what they had planned?

"What were you doing with my younger brother outside of Nesidy?" Alcott demanded.

I decided to feign innocence. "Your younger brother?"

"Wrong answer," said the eldest prince. He pointed Excalibur at me and a bolt of electricity shot out of the tip, striking me. My blood began to boil, and I screamed, tears flowing involuntarily down my face. Moving the sword away, the pain faded, and I stared up at him, panting.

"Tulio," I gasped out. "We were just out for a walk."

Alcott said, "He's in league with us, you know. We had this all planned out. He was to get you alone so we could kidnap you."

Anger rose up inside of me. "LIAR!" I shouted, "I've known Tulio longer than I've known you! He's not interested in my title as the saviour!"

A look of understanding crossed the princes' faces and they exchanged malicious glances.

"Tell me, Aralyne, has my little brother taken you to bed yet?" Kit asked. I flushed and refused to answer the question. "He _has!_ "

"This little trollop has fallen for our dear, traitorous brother," said Thomas. "And it sounds like he's in love with her as well. I think we just found a way to make him suffer."

Alcott laughed. "First Diaspro and now Aralyne! This is too perfect!"


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

When we finally arrived in the Southern Isles Alcott had me released, but kept a magical hold on me with Excalibur to make sure I didn't try to escape. Damn sword. After docking, he led me to the giant castle, and was taking me to the room I was to sleep in. Kit and Thomas disappeared down another hall. Probably off to tell their mother what was going on. I hated them.

One servant came up to us, giving me a nervous look. "Ahem!"

"Yellin," said Alcott, jerking me to a stop. I scowled up at him, but he ignored me. "As chief enforcer of all Southern Isles, I trust you with this secret: killers from Nesidy are infiltrating the Thieves' Forest and plan to murder my bride on our wedding night." My face turned red at his accusation. I wanted to shout, to protest, but my mouth wouldn't open, no matter how hard I tried. I was _really_ starting to hate magic.

"My spy network has heard no such news," said Yellin with a slight frown.

"She will not be murdered. Today, before the wedding, I want the Thieves' Forest emptied, and every inhabitant arrested," Alcott commanded.

"Many of the thieves will resist. My regular enforcers will be inadequate," Yellin said.

"FORM A BRUTE SQUAD, THEN!" the Prince shouted, "I want the Thieves' Forest emptied before I wed."

"It won't be easy, sire," Yellin said.

Alcott smirked. "Try ruling the world sometime."

Yellin finally left us, and Alcott's magical hold on me loosened slightly. I could at least open my mouth now.

"Tulio will come for me," I snarled at my captor.

"Believe me, I plan on it," he sneered.

* * *

Tulio returned to the jail, this time with a special key he had gotten from Lao Shi. He quickly ran back towards Siren's cell.

"You've got yourself a deal," Tulio said, unlocking her door. "But you have to do _exactly_ as I say, if we're to save Aralyne."

"You're setting free the murderous bitch, but not me," Hans muttered from his cell. "Not fair."

"Watch your tongue, _Your Highness_ , before I rip it from your mouth!" Siren hissed at the younger prince. Turning to Tulio, she added, "Fine. But we have to hurry. She was being tortured earlier."

Once the cell was open, Siren stepped out and latched onto Tulio's arm.

With his magic ring, he transported them to the Southern Isles.

* * *

The brute squad had their hands full carrying out Alcott's orders.

"Is everybody out?" Yellin inquired.

One Brute replied, "Almost. There's a Spaniard giving us some trouble."

"Well, you give him some trouble," Yellin ordered, before leaving back towards the castle.

* * *

Inigo was leaning against a wall, holding a bottle of whiskey. His vision was skewed, and he saw three of everything.

"I am waiting for you, Vizzini," he slurred out to the sky, "You told me to go back to the beginning. So I have. This is where I am, and this is where I will stay. I will not be moved."

"Ho there!" an assistant brute shouted out, heading towards the drunk.

"I do not budge. Keep your _Ho there_ ," Inigo muttered at the newcomer.

"But the prince gave orders," replied the assistant brute.

Inigo drew his sword, and stumbled to his feet. For a brief second, he couldn't decide which of the three visions was the real man, so he settled for the one in the center. "So did Vizzini. When the job went wrong you went back to the beginning. Well, this is where we got the job, so this is the beginning. And I am staying till Vizzini comes." He slumped into a nearby chair.

"You, brute, come here!" the assistant brute shouted out t someone behind Inigo.

"I am waiting for Vizzini," Inigo insisted.

A large hand lifted Inigo off the chair, and a voice accompanied the motion, "You surely are a meanie." Confused, Inigo compared his hand size to the giant one, then looked up and smiled at Fezzik. "Hello."

"It's you," Inigo said, trying to focus, but he saw three giants hovering before him.

"True," said Fezzik, then punched the assistant, knocking him out. "You don't look so good."

Inigo scoffed.

"You don't smell so good either," Fezzik added.

"Perhaps no," Inigo replied, "I feel fine."

"Yeah?" Fezzik inquired, patting his friend on the shoulder, and letting him go. Inigo fell flat on his face.

Fezzik and Inigo were reunited. And as Fezzik nursed his inebriated friend back to health in a cabin, he told Inigo of Vizzini's death and the existence of Count Rugen, the six fingered man. Considering Inigo's lifelong search, he handled the news surprisingly well – his head falling into a bowl of soup.

Fezzik took great care in reviving Inigo, dunking Inigo's head into two buckets of water – one really hot, and the other shockingly cold.

"That's enough! That's enough!" Inigo shouted once he was sober, "Where is this Rugen now, so I may kill him?"

"He's with the royals, in the castle. But the castle gate is guarded by thirty men," Fezzik explained.

Inigo kicked a bucket. "How many could you handle?"

"I don't think more than ten."

"Leaving twenty for me. At my best I could never defeat that many.I need Vizzini to plan. I have no gift for strategy."

"But Vizzini's dead," Fezzik pointed out.

An idea suddenly struck the swordsman. "No, not Vizzini. I need the man in black."

"What?" the giant asked, confused.

"Look, when we kidnapped that girl all those months ago, he bested you with strength, your greatness. He bested me with steel. He must have out-thought Vizzini. And a man who can do that can plan my castle onslaught any day. Let's go."

"Where?" inquired Fezzik.

"To find the man in black, obviously," Inigo replied, heading towards the door.

"But we don't know where he is!" protested Fezzik.

"Don't bother me with trifles. After twenty years, at last my father's soul will be at peace. There will be blood tonight!"

* * *

Tulio and Siren arrived in the Southern Isles in the forest right outside the castle.

"You couldn't have transported us _inside_ the castle?" the villainess hissed. "We could have been in and out in a matter of minutes!"

"First of all," Tulio replied peering around a tree at the castle, "If I took us inside the castle, we may have been killed right away. Second, there is no telling where my family is keeping Aralyne."

"Whatever, Prince Charming," Siren said, rolling her eyes. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to go and see what I can find out," he said, "You stay low and I'll come get you when the time is right."

Before she could protest, he took off. She slumped against a tree and huffed curses at his back.

Tulio managed to get close to the castle by the time he was caught by about twenty-guards.

"Make one move, and we'll run you through," a guard growled out, pressing his sword at Tulio's neck.

* * *

After taking me to my room, Alcott was to leave me there under the watchful eye of Kit, but I begged to not be left alone with the perverted prince. I was more willing to be with my fiancé, than I was to spend a single second with Kit.

Now we were in Alcott's study, a chain wrapped around my wrists and connecting me to his desk. He was seated beside me, making sure Excalibur was well out of my reach while he sharpened a dagger. I shivered as a spark flew from the steal striking the stone.

Yellin entered the study and knelt at Alcott's other side.

"Rise and report," the Prince ordered.

Yellin did as he was told. "The Thieves' Forest is emptied. Thirty men guard the castle gate."

"Double it. My princess must be safe," said Alcott, shooting me a triumphant look.

"The gate has but one key, and I carry that," Yellin proudly stated before leaving us alone again.

Alcott was silent for a moment before saying to me, "Tonight, we marry. Tomorrow morning I will be ruling the world!"

"Tulio will come for me," I snapped at him.

He sneered at me. "You're a silly girl."  
"Yes," I retorted, "I _am_ a silly girl, for not having seen sooner that you are nothing but a coward with a heart full of fear."  
His hand slipped and the dagger created a large amount of sparks. "I would not say such things if I were you."

"Why not?" I pressed. I enjoyed seeing him angry, and didn't care what happened to me right now. He couldn't kill me. Not yet, anyways. "You can't hurt me. And when I say you are a coward, that is only because you are the _slimiest_ weakling ever to crawl the earth."  
He dropped the items onto the desk and smacked me across the face. My head snapped to the side, my hair falling in my face, and my cheek was stinging, but I didn't care. I had gotten to him!

"Prince Alcott," a guard said, entering the study.

" _What?!_ " Prince Alcott roared, not taking his eyes off me.

"We found an intruder right outside the castle, Sir."

"And why should I care about some intruder?" the Prince demanded.

"Well, Sir, it's your brother – Tulio."

" _WHAT?!_ " Alcott and I cried, turning to the guard.

Two more guards stepped inside, Tulio in their clutches. He was struggling to break free.

"Tulio!" I exclaimed, shooting to my feet. I started heading towards him, but after a couple of steps, I jerked to a stop, my wrists aching from the chain wrapped around them.

"Aralyne?" he said in surprise, becoming still for a moment. He then managed to actually break free of his captors and ran past Alcott, stopping before me. "You're alive! I was so worried!" He leaned in and kissed me, cupping my face. The moment his hand touched my cheek, I hissed in pain and pulled away. "What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded. Tulio brushed the hair away from my face, and suddenly froze, his gaze lingering on my cheek. No doubt a bruise was already forming.

A fire blazed within in blue eyes and he rounded on his eldest brother. " _If you so much as lay another finger on her_ –"

Tulio never got to finish his threat.

Alcott had picked up Excalibur and pointed it in our direction. "Separate them."

The guards rushed forward and latched onto Tulio, pulling him well away from me.

"T-Tulio!" I pulled against the chain, but of course it was useless.

Alcott placed the tip of the sword on the chain. Electricity shot from the weapon. The chain burned my skin, making it feel like it was surrounded by molten fire. I gritted my teeth, trying not to scream, but it was useless. Shrieks escaped my lips and I pulled on the chain even more, hoping it would break apart. Tears were streaming from my eyes.

" _ENOUGH!_ " Tulio shouted.

Alcott stopped torturing me, lifting Excalibur off the chain. The chain was still burning hot, so it made no difference to me, and I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

Alcott smiled evilly and knelt before me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You truly love each other, and so you might have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the storybooks say." He shot a triumphant grin at his younger brother. "So I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you will. I'll be seeing you at my wedding. Take him to the dungeons."

The guards left with Tulio between them.

The evil Prince returned his attention to me and placed Excalibur on the chain once more.

" _No!_ " I shouted, pulling away.

"I'm not going to hurt you again, stupid girl, unless you give me reason to," he replied. With a single swipe, he sliced the chain and it clattered to the floor, leaving me free. For a moment I was surprised and confused.

"Get up. It's time for you to get ready. After all, you must look good before you die."

 _(Hey, everyone. Sorry for the long wait. School has kept me crazy busy this semester. I'll try to get to it when I can.)_


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

Siren had been sitting on the ground for about an hour, her wrists chafing. _When the hell is Tulio coming back?_ she wondered, absentmindedly rubbing her wrists. Suddenly, her wrists began to burn as if they were touching hot metal, and she involuntarily screamed.

Her screams echoed around the forest and she was afraid someone from the castle would hear. Biting back another cry, she shot to her feet, and ran deeper into the forest. Once she thought she was far enough, she ducked behind a thick bush to examine her wrists. The skin was flaming red and blistered in an odd pattern that reminded her of a chain.

"If I ever get ahold of that Prince Alcott, he is _dead!_ " she snarled, using her magic to soothe the pain.

* * *

"Fezzik! Fezzik! Listen! Do you hear?" said Inigo coming to a halt. A piercing scream was ricocheting off the trees of the forest. "That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when Rugen slaughtered my father. Someone else makes it now."

"The man in black?" Fezzik suggested hopefully.

Inigo shook his head. "It's a female scream. That girl we had kidnapped is marrying Prince Alcott tonight, so who else has the cause for ultimate suffering?"

They took off running into the woods.

* * *

Hearing footsteps heading her way, Siren tensed up. She didn't want to use her magic now in case it didn't work later to save Aralyne, but she had to defend herself. Forgetting about the pain on her wrists, she lifted her hands, causing electricity to spark on the tips of her fingers. Her heart beat loudly with each passing second.

Finally, two men burst through the brush and gazed down at her. The villainess recognized them right away as the ones that had kidnapped Siren a while back.

"It's her, Inigo! It's the girl that's going to marry Prince Alcott!" Fezzik declared.

"You have me confused with someone else," Siren muttered, eyeing them warily. If they made any sudden moves, she was going to blast them to oblivion.

"Do you have a twin, perhaps?" Inigo inquired.

Siren didn't want to give too much away of who she was and simply nodded.

Inigo continued. "We heard a scream and thought it might be your twin."

"We feel bad about what we did to her last time and were hoping to help her," Fezzik rumbled.

 _Help?_ Siren scrutinized them from head to toe. Perhaps they could be of use to her so she wouldn't waste all of her energy in trying to save Aralyne's (and more importantly her own) ass. She put a halt to her electrifying fingers.

"I could use your _help_ ," she practically choked on the word, "saving my _twin_. She's somewhere in the castle and a friend of mine went after her. I don't know how long he'll be away, but I can't sit and wait for him to come back."

"We'll do whatever you ask of us," Inigo said.

"Okay. Let's go see what we're up against," Siren said getting to her feet. She headed towards the castle and the men followed her.

They were only about a hundred feet from the castle whilst they hid in the foliage surrounding the building. From their vantage point, they could make out several dozen soldiers scattered before the entrance.

"Inigo, there's more than thirty!" Fezzik whispered to his companion.

"What's the difference? We've got her," Inigo replied gesturing to Siren. "If she's anything like her twin, she'll outsmart all of them!"

"The wedding's in half an hour," Siren told the men. How she knew that, she wasn't entirely sure, but she could feel Aralyne's anxiety reach a high peak. "We must strike in the hustle and the bustle beforehand. All we have to do is get in, break up the wedding, steal Aralyne, find Tulio, and make our escape."

"After I kill Count Rugen," Inigo quickly added.

Siren rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for whatever this Spaniard had in store for the Count. "That doesn't leave much time for dilly-dallying. What are our liabilities?"

Inigo replied, "There is but one working castle gate. And it is guarded by... sixty men."

 _Damn! That'll waste my powers quickly! I have to save my energy for the big fight!_ "And our assets?"

"Your brains, Fezzik's strength, my steel," Inigo supplied.

"That's it?" she hissed in exasperation, "Impossible. If I had more time to plan, maybe I could come up with something, but this..." She shook her head. "I mean, if we only had a _wheelbarrow_ , that would be something."

At that moment, an albino walked by, pushing a wheelbarrow. Siren couldn't believe her luck! When the albino saw them, he froze and opened his mouth, ready to scream.

Inigo quickly unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the albino's chest. "Make a sound, and I run you through."

Siren sauntered up to the intruder. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "Where is Prince Tulio?" The albino's eyes flickered towards the castle for a brief second, but that was all the indication she needed to know that Tulio had been captured. "Where is Alcott keeping him?" Still the albino remained silent.

"Fezzik, jog his memory," Inigo said.

The giant bonked the albino on the head, leaving him unconscious. "I'm sorry, Inigo. I didn't mean to jog him so hard."

Siren waved off his apology. "It doesn't matter. We have what we need." Stepping over the albino's body, she took hold of the wheelbarrow. "Now, what I wouldn't give for a holocaust cloak."

"There we cannot help you," Inigo said, shaking his head.

By this point, Fezzik had been searching through the albino's pockets and pulled out a long black piece of cloth. "Would this do?" he inquired.

"That's perfect," the villainess said, again hardly believing her good fortune. "Now, there may be problems once we're inside."

"I'll say," Inigo said, "How do I find the Count? Once I do, how do I find you again? Once I find you again, how do we escape?"

Siren ignored him, gazing up at the castle, a plan forming in her mind.

"Don't pester her. She's thinking," Fezzik said.

"Right. Right. Sorry."

"Okay, here's what we do," Siren said, returning her attention back to the men. She told them her plan.

Once she had finished speaking, Fezzik said, "Inigo?"

"What?"

"I hope we win."

* * *

I stood before a full-length mirror, gazing at my reflection in disgust. I was dressed in a tight-fitting snow white dress that had lace leading up around my neck, and long sleeves, covering the burns on my wrists. The skirt flowed down around my feet incased in glass slippers. A silver tiara rested on my head, my dark brown curls pinned away from my face.

"You don't seem excited, my little muffet," Alcott said, standing behind me. He placed his hands on my bare shoulders, making me shiver.

"Should I be?" I grumbled, wishing I could pull away from him. He had Excalibur in a sheath attached to his belt. It glowed a faint scarlet as it held me in place. How I wanted to steal it from him and run him through!

"Brides often are, I'm told," he said, stepping back well out of my reach. The magic holding me in place, vanished.

Rounding on him, I snarled, "I _will_ _not_ marry tonight. You can be sure of that!"

The Prince sneered down at him. "You won't have any choice in the matter."

His threat made me cold from the inside-out. With an angry huff, I turned and marched out of my room.

At first, I had tried heading towards any of the exits to the castle, but my feet wouldn't comply. What Alcott had said on the ship kept echoing through my head.

" _You're going to marry me, Aralyne, to ensure I become King of Incantationen."_

I got dizzy, and my vision blacked out for a second. When I blinked and regained my bearings, I found myself right outside the chapel with Alcott behind me, laughing.

 _Damn! I'm still under his control!_ I felt sick and wanted to cry. But I wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Blinking back the tears, I firmed my chin and entered the chapel. Instead of waiting for the blasted _Wedding March_ , I stormed right up to the Clergyman, and Alcott joined me a second later. I looked around at the guests. Not many people, just those that worked in the castle, Alcott's family - James, Marcus, and Louis missing, as usual – and several dozen soldiers with Tulio in their midst, chains wrapped around his wrists.

Upon seeing me, he tried breaking free, but the soldiers quickly subdued him.

"Aralyne, don't do this!" Tulio shouted.

My lower lip trembled. Alcott was right. I had no choice in the matter. I turned my back to him right as the clergyman started to speak with a thick lisp.

"Mawwage. Mawwage is what bwings us togevah today. Mawwage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dweam."

There were suddenly shouts from outside.

* * *

"Stand your ground, men, stand your ground!"

 _What was going on?_

"Stand your ground!" Yellin commanded of his men.

Fezzik was wearing the holocaust cloak, his face the only thing that was visible. He stood on the wheelbarrow while Inigo and Siren pushed him from behind. So far no one had noticed this was a ridiculous hoax.

"I am the Dread Pirate Roberts!" Fezzik roared, "There will be no survivors!"

"Now?" Inigo whispered to Siren.

"Not yet," she grunted. She wasn't exactly strong, and the giant wasn't exactly light.

"My men are here, I am here. But soon, you will not be here," Fezzik continued.

"Now?" Inigo repeated.

"Light him," she replied.

Inigo set the cloak on fire with a lit candle. Fezzik was instantly engulfed in flames, but the cloak protected him from being burned.

"The Dread Pirate Roberts takes no survivors!" Fezzik rumbled as the soldiers backed away from the flaming giant. "All your worst nightmares are about to come true!"

* * *

"Then wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah—"

I had tuned out the clergyman and listened to the screams coming from outside.

Alcott motioned for Rugen to check out whatever was going on, and Rugen left, taking half the soldiers with him.

I looked over at Tulio to see he was listening to the commotion as well. His face remained passive, but his blue eyes glinted mischievously as he gazed at me. Whether or not he had this planned all along, he had someone coming after us.

* * *

"The Dread Pirate Roberts is here for your souls!" Fezzik exclaimed, milking the fear out of the soldiers. Some of them had even ran off into the night.

Others were tempted to follow, but Yellin wouldn't let them go. "Stay where you are! Fight! Stay where you are!"

Siren grinned evilly. This was going better than expected!

* * *

"So tweasuwe youw wove –"

"Skip to the end," Alcott growled, cutting off the clergyman.

"Have you the wing?" the clergyman asked, not even the least bit disturbed by the Prince's attitude.

Alcott lifted up my hand. I tried pulling my hand away, and ended up dizzy and sick again.

 _I can't marry him! I can't! I won't!_

" _I WON'T!_ " I shouted, yanking my hand free. I felt a sense of freedom, realizing I had managed to break the spell he held on me. A part of me wanted to laugh.

Alcott's eyes narrowed. He tried reaching for me, again, but I backed up out of his reach.

"You don't control me anymore, Alcott!" I shouted.

"Aralyne, look out!" Tulio called.

Too late. My arms were suddenly twisted behind my back, and an arm wrapped around my neck.

"Not so fast, Aralyne," Kit snickered in my ear.

Alcott smirked as he stepped forward. "Aralyne, did you really forget my backup plan?" Alcott pulled a small vial out of his pocket and waved it before my face.

My eyes widened in fear, realizing what it was.

"No," I whimpered.

After removing the cork from the vial, Alcott forced my mouth open and spilled the electric pink contents down my throat. At first I choked, trying to keep myself from consuming it. It was actually very sweet, tasting like bubblegum, and I involuntarily swallowed the concoction. Once I had drank every last drop, a strange warmth radiated throughout my body.

Alcott grinned malevolently and pressed his lips to mine.

I groaned as I hungrily kissed him back. Kit released me, and I threw myself at Prince Alcott, wanting – no, _needing_ him entirely.

Alcott broke off the kiss, looking triumphant. "Let's finish the wedding ceremony."

"Yes," I said breathlessly as he led me back towards the clergyman. Why not? I loved him, after all.

" _NOOO!_ "

I glanced over at Tulio looking heartbroken. Only moments ago I thought I had been in love with him, but that was just an illusion. My true love was Prince Alcott….

 _(Hey, everyone. I know I've been slacking on this, and I'm truly sorry for not working on it. I have no excuses, really. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.)_


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

All of the soldiers had finally ran off in fright, leaving Yellin by himself.

Fezzik threw off the cloak and jumped out of the wheelbarrow. The small band of rescuers ran towards the castle, cornering Yellin at the front door.

"Give us the castle key," Siren demanded.

"I have no castle key," said Yellin.

"Fezzik, tear his arms off," Inigo instructed. Personally, Siren would have started off with a smaller appendage.

"Oh, you mean this castle key," Yellin quickly said, removing it from his vest and holding it out to then took off after his soldiers.

While Inigo worked on the locked door, Siren suddenly felt a strange warmth spread throughout her body and a strong urge to kiss rather than kill Prince Alcott. In fact her entire being yearned for him. _Love potion!_ She focused on blocking Aralyne's emotions, but the connection was too strong.

"We have to hurry!" she yelled.

* * *

"And do you, Queen Awawyne –"

"Man and wife! Say man and wife!" Alcott snarled, cutting across the clergyman.

Without missing a beat, the clergyman said, "Man and wife."

It finally happened! I was married to my one true love, Prince Alcott. I looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to kiss me, but instead, he passed me over to Kit.

"Take her to the honeymoon suite. I'll be there shortly to finish the job," Alcott growled, then walked out of the chapel.

I was a bit confused, but followed Kit anyway. He gave me a lecherous smile.

" _KIT, IF YOU LAY ONE FINGER ON HER -!_ "

Tulio's threat wasn't hurt as we left the chapel.

* * *

Inigo, Fezzik, and Siren ran down the halls until they came face to face with Count Rugen and his soldiers.

"Kill the men, but leave the girl for questioning," Rugen commanded.

The soldiers charged forward, but Inigo quickly slaughtered them. "Hello," he said, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Rugen tensed up as if he were going to fight, but instead, turned and ran. Inigo chased after him. A moment later, Fezzik and Siren could hear him shouting.

"Fezzik! I need you! He's getting away from me, Fezzik! Please! Fezzik!"

"I'll be right back," Fezzik told Siren before going after his friend.

As soon as he was out of sight, Siren searched the castle herself for Aralyne and Tulio. She eventually found the wedding chapel and charged inside. Everyone stared at her in surprise.

"Aralyne?" said Queen Morgaine in confusion.

"Siren!" Tulio shouted, gaining the villainess's attention. She scrutinized everyone in the room. More than a dozen soldiers, the help, the clergyman, the King, the Queen, and six of Tulio's brothers. There was no way she could take on all of them. And where were Alcott and Aralyne?

Remaining calm, Siren called out, "Athena, Apollo, Ares."

Three figures suddenly appeared in the chapel. Everyone gasped at the possessed, demonic-looking deities. They gazed upon their mistress, waiting for her instructions.

"Ares, turn theses soldiers on each other. Athena go locate the rest of the soldiers and destroy them. Apollo, obliterate the royals in this room, but leave Tulio alone," Siren said coldly. The very last order was forced out. Her mind kept drifting towards Alcott and how much she yearned for him.

The servants and clergyman screamed and ran for their lives. The soldiers no longer focused on Tulio and began fighting amongst themselves. Athena vanished from the chapel. Apollo focused on the royal family, the lot of them yelling for help. Siren walked calmly through the madness and stopped before Tulio. She blinked up at him for a moment, struggling with the emotions warring inside of her.

She loved Alcott. _No, I don't! I don't love anyone, but myself!_ Her entire being yearned for Alcott. _No! I don't love him!_ She couldn't fight what her heart wanted. _I have no heart!_ Alcott was her everything, her entire world. _No!_ Thoughts of Alcott were clouding her mind.

" _I can't think straight!_ " she growled out, then grasped Tulio's shirt and yanked him down to her level. She kissed him, startling him, but he didn't protest or pull back. All lustful imaginings of Alcott faded away. Siren broke the kiss, sighing in relief. "Where are Aralyne and Alcott?" she demanded.

"I don't know where Alcott went, but Kit took Aralyne away. We have to hurry, though. I don't trust that bastard to be alone with her for even a second."

Siren used her magic to remove the chains from Tulio's wrists and they sprinted out of the chapel, the sounds of death right behind them.

* * *

After Fezzik had busted down a door open for Inigo, the Spaniard chased after Count Rugen and finally caught up to him in a room at the bottom of a flight of stairs. Unfortunately, Rugen had been waiting for Inigo, and let his dagger fly. The weapon became imbedded in Inigo's stomach, and the Spaniard fell back against the wall in surprise.

"Sorry, father. I tried. I tried," Inigo gasped out.

Count Rugen studied his opponent. "You must be that little Spanish brat I taught a lesson to all those years ago. Simply incredible. Have you been chasing me your whole life, only to fail now? I think that's the worst thing I've ever heard. How marvelous."

Inigo slid down to the floor in defeat.

* * *

When Kit and I arrived at the Honeymoon suite, he suddenly shut and locked the door behind us, a perverted grin on his face.

"Finally, some alone time," he sneered. He shoved me up against a wall, pressing his body against mine, and started kissing me. My screams came out muffled, and I couldn't fight him off. His hand gripped at the skirt of my dress, and he tore as much of it off as possible. His hand slid up my exposed thigh, heading towards my womanhood. _Alcott, help!_

* * *

Inigo was trying to stand, but it was a struggle.

"Good heavens. Are you still trying to win?" Count Rugen asked in mild amusement. Inigo braced himself against the wall, sweat dripping down his face. "You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you into trouble someday." Rugen drew his sword and was ready to slay Inigo, but the Spaniard deflected all of his blows, getting stabbed in the shoulders instead.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," Inigo quietly said, staggering forward, but he fell against a table. "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." He regained his footing, and his voice. "HELLO. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

"Stop saying that!" Count Rugen snarled, backing up from the Spaniard.

Inigo stabbed Rugen's shoulders. "HELLO. MY NAME IS INIGO MONTOYA. YOU KILLED MY FATHER, PREPARE TO DIE." He knocked Rugen's sword to the floor.

"No!" Rugen said in defeat.

"Offer me money!" Inigo demanded, slicing Rugen's left cheek.

"Yes!"

"Power, too. Promise me that!" Inigo demanded, slicing Rugen's right cheek.

"All that I have and more! Please!" Rugen begged.

"Offer me everything I ask for!" Inigo hissed.

"Anything you want."

"I want my father back, you son of a bitch," Inigo said coldly, running Rugen through the stomach. Count Rugen fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

Siren felt fear grip her chest, and the anxiety that swept through her was overwhelming.

"Something's wrong," she told Tulio as they raced through the castle. "She's afraid."

Tulio scowled and increased his pace.

A moment later, they skid to a halt outside a door. From the other side of the wood, they could hear muffled screaming. Tulio grasped the handle, but found it locked.

"Stand back," Siren instructed pointing at the door.

* * *

The door to the room suddenly exploded open, and wood flew everywhere. Since Kit was still on top of me, he got the worst of it, splinters becoming imbedded in his back, arm, and cheek. With a roar of rage and pain, he turned towards the doorway. I peered over his shoulder to see a weary Siren and an enraged Tulio.

" _Step. Away. From her,_ " Tulio said in a cold, deadly tone.

Kit removed the splinters from his cheek, and sneered at Tulio.

"I must say, brother, you've got good taste. Her body is just delectable."

Tulio bellowed out profanities, charging towards Kit. I ducked out of the way and made it to Siren's side.

Siren grasped me by the shoulders and I gazed into her scarlet eyes. "Aralyne, tell me who you love."

That was a ridiculous question. "I love Alcott," I replied in confusion.

"No, you don't!" she shouted.

"Why do you even care?!" I snapped at her.

"Because your emotions are affecting me!" she retorted. "You love Tulio! It's always been _Tulio!_ Listen to your heart, Aralyne!"

Her eyes suddenly glowed, and I couldn't look away. Every memory I've ever had of Tulio raced through my mind, but I still felt nothing for him. I was in love with Alcott.

Siren's gaze flickered over my shoulder. " _Tulio!_ " She pushed me aside and raised her hand.

Kit had had Tulio pinned to the floor and was about to stab him with a knife. Black energy shot out of Siren's hand and surrounded Kit. Kit no longer had control of his limbs. I could see the fear on his face as his own hand pulled away from Tulio. Without warning, he stabbed himself in the throat. Blood gushed out of his neck, and burbled out from between his lips as he fell over dead on top of his brother. I stood there, horrified. This was the kind of power, Siren had had all along but never released it until now. It was a miracle any of us were even still alive.

Siren moaned, and collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

"Siren," Tulio called out to her, shoving Kit's body off of him. He was now covered in his brother's blood.

After making sure my evil side was okay, he gazed up at me. "Aralyne, please! You have to fight the love potion! You know deep down that Alcott isn't the one for you."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Tulio."

"No! I'm not going to lose you again!" he shouted, climbing to his feet. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me closer. Before I could shove him away or even break free of his hold, he kissed me. It wasn't rough like Kit had been with me earlier. No, this one was passionate and pure, and made my entire body tingle from head to toe. "Who do you love?" he whispered against my lips.

"I love…" my thoughts and emotions were clear. I couldn't deny the man who was always meant for me. "You."

He smiled and kissed me once more.

"Oh, Tulio, will you ever forgive me? The wedding, it all happened so fast."

"Never happened," he said simply, stroking my cheek.

"What?" I said in confusion.

"Never happened," he repeated.

"But it did. You were there. The clergyman said _man and wife_."

"Did you say _I do_?" he inquired.

I thought about it and frowned. "No," I slowly said, "We sort of skipped that part."

"Then you're not married. If you didn't say it, you didn't do it. Wouldn't you agree, brother?" Tulio said, his gaze shifting to look past me. I turned to see Alcott standing in the doorway, looking furious.

"A technicality that will shortly be remedied. But first things first," Alcott unsheathed his sword, "To the death."

Tulio pushed me behind him. The brothers squared up against each other and I knew right away how this was going to end. Tulio didn't have a weapon….

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and glanced down to see Siren was awake again, and she was slowly inching her way towards Kit's body. Neither one of the men noticed her. She grasped the dagger and yanked it out of Kit's neck, her gaze locking with mine. I knew what she intended to do and nodded. My attention was now split between Alcott and Siren.

Alcott swung his sword at Tulio's midsection. At the same time, I took hold of Tulio's arm, yanking him backwards and down onto the floor. Siren let the dagger fly, and it soared over our heads, penetrating Alcott in the heart.

The eldest Prince glanced down at the dagger in shock before dropping his own weapon. He staggered back a step before falling over, dead.

A man entered the room, and I quickly recognized him as Inigo, the Spaniard that had kidnapped me along with Fezzik and Vizzini. I eyed him warily, not sure what was going to happen next, but did notice blood was pouring out of his stomach. He stared at the two dead bodies in the room, then looked between me and Siren for a second.

"Where's Fezzik?" he asked my evil side.

"I thought he was with you," she replied.

"No."

"In that case, nngh!" Siren had tried climbing to her feet, but still being weak, she fumbled, and caught a chair nearby. Tulio quickly left my side and went to help Siren.

We suddenly heard a voice outside. "Inigo! Inigo! Where are you?" We exchanged glances before Inigo made his way to a window, opening it. The rest of us crowded around him. Below us was Fezzik holding the reigns to two white horses. "Oh, there you are. Inigo, I saw the princes' stable, and there they were, ten white horses. And I thought, there are two of us, if the lady doesn't want to be with us anymore _._ So I took them with me, in case we ever bumped into each other. I guess we just did."

"Fezzik, you did something right," Inigo said in approval.

"Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head," Fezzik replied.

"Thank you for your help," I said, realizing what Inigo and Fezzik must have done. I stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek before blowing a kiss down to Fezzik. He beamed up at me.

"We should be head home," Tulio said, taking hold of my hand.

"You know, It's very strange," Inigo said, before we could leave, "I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life."

"Have you ever considered piracy? You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts," Tulio said. Inigo seemed to consider the idea before jumping out of the window where Fezzik was waiting for him.

Tulio and I waved goodbye to them before I grabbed and Excalibur, and he used the magic rings to transport us back to Nesidy.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

"You know, I really don't think Rumpelstiltskin held up his end of the deal," Banzai said aloud to the rest of the villains surrounding him. "If Aralyne and Siren were dead, we would have been ruling the world by now."

"You don't say," said Rothbart, rolling his eyes.

"I think it's time I paid the Yin and Yang twins a little visit," said Eric. "Come with me, Chernabog. I'm going to need your help causing a bit of mischief."

The two villains left the Horned King's castle and the second they stepped outside, Chernabog grasped Eric around his chest and leapt up into the sky. His giant bat wings beat loudly as they flew over towards Nesidy.

They landed somewhere outside the town, making sure no one saw them arrive, and trekked the rest of the way. They hadn't even reached Nesidy yet when they came across a beautiful young woman strolling through the forest, a basket swinging from her hand.

Eric recognized her sunshine gold hair and violet eyes right away. "Aurora," he sneered. "She'll do perfectly."

She was singing, and birds were echoing her tune as she paused at a bush to collect blackberries.

"Have fun," Eric said, gesturing towards the woman.

Chernabog grinned evilly and pointed at Aurora.

A black and red light shot out of his finger and struck the young woman. She froze, her song turning into a scream. Rose vines circled around her arms, and waist, tearing her dress. One even wrapped around her head like a tiara. A rose drilled into her skull, and her eyes suddenly went from a deep violet to a pearly white. Chernabog then provided the possessed beauty with a sword.

"Go," Chernabog commanded.

Aurora turned right around and headed back towards Nesidy, the two villains following her. When she entered the town, she swung her weapon around, killing anyone that crossed her path. Eric, then veered away from Chernabog and Aurora, searching for Aralyne and Siren.

* * *

Shortly after returning to Nesidy, I moved back into the Benbow Inn with Alyss and Catherine. Apparently Tulio had made a deal with Siren that if she helped save me, she would be free from the jail. For a second, I really thought she had changed, but of course I was wrong. And now she was holding it over me that _she_ was living with Tulio (only because no one in their right mind would take her in) and when she managed to catch me alone, she would tell me about so many _things_ they did together. Hearing her made my blood boil, and if it wasn't for the fact I would inevitably kill myself, I would have murdered her!

"She is _dead!_ " I hissed during lunch one day, stabbing my fork deep into my steak. I could hear the metal clang against the china. From where I sat, I could clearly see Siren and Tulio walking down the street. She had noticed me watching and sneered at me before slipping an arm around his waist. She pulled him down closer and kissed him right there in front of everyone. He didn't bother pulling away or stopping her! In fact, he seemed to _enjoy_ it!

I stood up, ready to charge after the bitch, but Alyss and Catherine each grabbed one of my arms and yanked me back into my seat.

"Aralyne, stop!" Alyss said.

"There's nothing you can do about it," Catherine added.

"I'll figure something out," I growled, yanking out of their grasps. Before they could get to me, I ran out of the dining area.

"Aralyne, wait!"

Shortly after leaving the Benbow Inn, I ran directly into someone.

"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at the person, and suddenly froze. He sneered down at me.

"If it isn't my favourite saviour," he said.

"E-Eric," I stammered out, "What are you doing here?"

"I just came by to pay you a little visit."

At that moment, I heard screams coming from one end of Nesidy. I turned in that direction to see what was going on, but before I could go check it out, Eric grabbed me from behind. He pulled me out of sight from any prying eyes.

"Let me go!" I yelled, trying to break free of him. His grip tightened, making my limb go numb, and I hissed. He yanked me in the direction of an alley. I dug my heels into the dirt road, and was dragged anyway. With a final pull, I stumbled into the alley after him.

I was _sick_ of always being kidnapped! With my free hand, I threw a punch at his head, but he expertly blocked it. He twisted my arm behind my back, and for a second I was afraid he was going to break it. Pushing the pain aside, I made a mental note of our position. He now stood behind me as his free arm snaked around my neck.

"I will make you suffer," he hissed into my ear. "I will make you beg for death."

"Not likely," I snarled. I jutted my elbow back into his groin before throwing my head back into his face. He cried out in pain, releasing me. I reached back for Excalibur to find… nothing.

 _Shit! I left it at the table with Alyss and Catherine!_

My momentary distraction was all Eric needed to recapture me. He attacked me from the front, slamming me back into the wall. My head hit the brick with such force, I blacked out for a second. Eric's face was inches from mine, blood flowing from his broken nose. His hand wrapped around my throat and he squeezed. My head started throbbing from the lack of air and from hitting it on the wall. I couldn't think straight. My vision faded out.

 _Someone, help…._

* * *

"She forgot Excalibur again," Alyss said, nodding towards the sword resting against the table. "Doesn't she ever learn?"

"Nope. Now let's go stop her before she kills herself," Catherine said. She grabbed Excalibur and they left the Benobw Inn. Aralyne was nowhere to be seen and they feared she had already caught up to her evil side.

The sisters ran down the street even faster, and skid to a halt when they rounded a corner. Tulio and Siren stood before them looking startled to be nearly hit.

"Where's Aralyne?" Alyss warily asked.

"Wasn't she with you?" Siren said in annoyance.

"She was, but she suddenly ran off," Catherine replied. "We thought she would be with you two."

"Well, she obviously isn't," Siren snapped.

A scream suddenly ran through the air, grabbing their attention. About three blocks from where they stood, they could see people running from something and screaming for their lives.

"What in the world?" Tulio muttered, frowning.

At that moment, Siren felt one of her arms go numb and hissed. Everyone turned to her in alarum. Her arm then hurt as if it were close to breaking. Through clenched teeth she said, "Aralyne is in trouble!" She glared at Alyss and Catherine. "Weren't you supposed to be watching her?!"

A sharp pain shot through the back of Siren's head, making her cry out, and then it felt like a hand had wrapped around her throat. Her airways were constricted and she couldn't breathe.

"Siren? Siren, what's going on?" Tulio demanded.

The villainess's vision blacked out for a second, and the pressure around her throat lessened. She inhaled deeply and swore. "We need to find Aralyne _now!_ " she choked out.

"But what about whatever's going on over there?" Alyss asked, gesturing towards the screaming crowd.

Siren waved her hand as if it weren't important. "That can wait. My very _existence_ is at stake here!"

Danny Phantom appeared, flying above them. "Heads up! It's another zombie attack," he said, hovering several feet in the air.

That seemed to grab Siren's attention. " _What?!_ What do you mean another zombie attack?!"

"Somehow Aurora turned into a zombie," Danny explained, shooting a wary eye over at the commotion. "She already killed Flynn Rider, Jack Sparrow, and Jim Hawkins."

Alyss and Catherine gasped. Tulio became grim. Flynn Rider had been his best friend after all.

"But that's not possible!" Siren said in confusion, shaking her head. "There can't be any zombies! _I'm_ the only one –" She suddenly stopped midsentence, her scarlet eyes widening. "Chernabog. That _bloody_ demon!"

"We've wasted enough time standing here!" Tulio snapped. He snatched Excalibur from Catherine. "We need to stop Aurora before things get worse!"

"I'll make this a short fight," Siren snarled. She walked over to the commotion, gliding smoothly through the crowd of panicked characters. The others followed, a bit fearful as to what may happen.

They arrived to find zombie Aurora wielding a sword and was fighting five of Phoebus's soldiers at a time. Her skin was a deathly pale, her black and grey dress was torn, rose vines encircled her body, her eyes were a pure white, and her golden curls were now pale and fell limply down her back.

A black light shot out of the palm of Siren's hand and struck Aurora. The zombie suddenly burst into flames and quickly turned to ashes.

Everyone stared at the villainess in surprise. Did she really just help them?

"Now that that's over, we need to find Aralyne _and_ Chernabog. That demon has the power to raise the dead and turn anything into zombies just like I can. We need to destroy him before he does something else!" Siren said, turning to her companions.

"How?" Catherine asked.

"With a holy bell," Siren explained. "It's the _only_ thing that can defeat him and trap him in hell where he belongs."

"The holy bell!" Alyss exclaimed. "I read about that a couple weeks ago! It's said that the fairies are the keepers of the bell!"

"You two get the bell," Siren told Alyss and Catherine. "The guys and I will find Aralyne."

Everyone nodded their agreement. The sisters transformed into bluebirds and flew off out of Nesidy.

Siren and the males raced through the town, beginning their search for Aralyne.

* * *

It was the freezing air that woke me up. My cheek was pressed against something ice cold and it was oddly quiet. A bit unnaturally so. The back of my head and the area around my throat were throbbing. It even hurt to swallow. The last thing I remembered was fighting Eric in the alley.

 _Eric!_

I suddenly sat up, my eyes snapping open. Everything in my vision was pitch black. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Five seconds…. Ten seconds…. Twenty seconds…. Nothing changed. I couldn't see! _I couldn't see!_ Had I gone blind? Was I going to spend the rest of my days like Garret?

I began to hyperventilate, having a panic attack.

 _Why can't I see?! What's going on?!_

There was the sound of air being released, and the next thing I knew, a bright light shone in the shape of a rectangle. I shielded my eyes until they grew accustomed to the sudden light. The floor beneath me was some sort of metal, as were the walls and ceiling. That still didn't explain where I was. On the bright side (no pun intended), I now knew I wasn't blind.

A figure stood in the centre of the light.

"Sleep well?"

"E-Eric?" I squinted at him. "Where am I?"

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I just came to make sure you weren't dead… yet. Because, what fun would that be?"

I climbed to my feet and glared at him. My knees shook, but I managed to remain steady.

"I'll get out of here, Eric. Make no mistake."

"Not while you're alive," he sneered. "No one will be able to find you. This room is completely soundproof, so you can scream all you want. No one will hear you. And no one knows you're here but me. I'm going to make your suffer, Aralyne. I'm going to make you wish you were dead. You'll be alone in here with your thoughts; a dark place, I'm sure, especially with Siren being a part of you."

"Shut up!" I snarled.

"Tell me, Aralyne, how does it feel knowing Tulio chooses _her_ over _you?_ "

" _I said SHUT UP!_ " I screamed, charging towards him.

Eric laughed and took a step back, quickly shutting the door to the room. Everything went dark, and I slammed into the cold metal. My hands furiously searched for a handle, but I found nothing but a cold flat surface. I couldn't even feel the crack around the door.

" _ERIC!_ "

The darkness seemed to swallow up my voice. I slapped the metal until my hand hurt and screamed until my voice gave out.

I rested my forehead against the cold metal. My breath came out in loud in the silent room.

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

He didn't choose her over me. He chose _me!_ Didn't he?

 _"Let her go!" Tulio said now becoming desperate, "I'll do anything!"_

 _"What I want," Siren said pointing to Tulio, "is_ you _."_ What?! _"You agree to willingly work for me, and I_ _swear to let your little girlfriend go, otherwise she dies and becomes one of my undead slaves, just like that little brat's parents."_

 _"Tulio, don't!" I screamed at him._

 _He locked gazes with me for a moment. I saw something die in his eyes before being replaced with determination. Returning his attention to Siren, he glared at her and said, "Fine. Just let her go."_

 _"_ No! _"_ _I shrieked._

 _"Excellent," Siren said with a laugh, snapping her fingers. Tulio suddenly vanished._

 _Tears were now streaming from my eyes and I felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest. He was gone!_

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

The loneliness began creeping in to my very being. I hugged myself but received no comfort.

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

He did choose her over me. That's why I was here in some hellhole instead of out there with him.

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

Still leaning against the wall, I slid down to my knees. My throat was tight and my eyes stung with unshed tears.

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt the tears stream down my face.

 _How does it feel knowing Tulio chooses_ her _over_ you?

I allowed myself to be swallowed by the darkness….


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Siren couldn't focus on running. She felt so scared, so angry, so _alone. What_ was happening to Aralyne? With a growl, the villainess shook her head.

"Siren, look out!" Tulio exclaimed.

Siren blinked and skid to a halt before she could slam into the building before her.

"What's wrong?" Tulio inquired, "Is Aralyne okay?"

"I don't know," she replied, pressing her hands against her head. "She's alone and afraid and…." Something was wrong. The emotions vanished and Siren felt a sense of emptiness that reminded her of death. It was almost like Aralyne had emotionally shut down. It was overwhelming and Siren could feel it creeping into her. Her eye twitched as she felt herself losing control of her own emotions. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Siren?" Tulio sounded worried.

She latched onto his vest. "Tell me you still have my mirror."

"Mirror?" Danny said in confusion. Was she really that narcissistic?

"Yes, it's still at my house," Tulio replied.

Siren stumbled on in the direction of Tulio's house, desperately trying to hold on to her emotions. Tulio and Danny followed her. Once at the house, Tulio led the others to his bedroom. From under the bed, he pulled out Siren's mirror, and handed it to her. She concentrated on her reflection, and with a flash of black light, the three of them were no longer in Tulio's room. They were in a ghost town – literally. Ghosts were wandering around the sparse buildings going about their business as if they had never died.

"Where are we?" Danny asked, glancing at an abandoned hospital behind them.

"We're in my mind," Siren said through gritted teeth. " _Don't. Touch. Anything._ "

"How will this help us find Aralyne?" Danny asked as they followed Siren away from the hospital.

Tulio filled the ghost-boy in on their last adventure in Siren/Aralyne's mind. His entire being ached with sadness, since he had been with Flynn during their last excursion in this bizarre world. It hurt, knowing he would never have another adventure with his best friend again. By the time Tulio finished his tale the three of them came to the end of Fort Bayard and stopped at the entrance of the maze.

Siren stared at the entrance to the maze and felt something cold emanate from there. She had to hold back a shudder, highly aware that the males – particularly Tulio – were watching her.

"Well, are we going or not?" she demanded and cringed. Her voice cracked on the last word. Tulio took a step closer to her. He could tell she was afraid. She squared her shoulders and marched forward into the maze.

"Why don't I just fly us over the maze?" Danny suggested.

"Don't try it," Siren said. "It's a maze for a reason."

Danny rolled his eyes, and jumped up to try and fly over the maze. He seemed to hit an electric barrier that set him alight for a second before he dropped to the ground, his white hair smoking a bit. "Okay. Flying is out," he muttered, a bit dazed. Tulio helped him to his feet, and the three of them started walking through the maze.

At first, there was nothing out of the ordinary, and Siren was too distracted on Aralyne's half of their mind to notice anything amiss.

"Siren!" Tulio shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders, and pulling her against himself.

"What?" she snapped, annoyed with him, until she saw he was staring at something before them with an expression of both alarm and disgust. She looked forward to see people trapped inside the stone walls, their skin grey and dripping slime. Their eyes were pure white, and their hands were outstretched towards them. Eerie moans escaped their lips. "What the hell?!"

"What are _those?_ " Danny asked.

"I… don't know," Siren admitted, repulsed by the oozing slime dripping to the ground. "They weren't here the last time."

"Don't touch the walls," Tulio said.

Siren shuddered. She didn't need to be told twice. Pulling away from Tulio, she began leading the men through the maze. With each twist and turn, there were more people hanging out of the walls.

"She's got a really wacked up mind," Danny whispered to Tulio.

"One more word from you, Phantom, and I'm shoving you into their grasp," Siren snarled without looking back.

Other than the moans from the people in the walls, there was no other sound to be heard. Then they heard a low growl, that sounded like it was all around them.

"What was that?" Tulio inquired, when they came to a halt.

"Sounds like an animal," Siren muttered. She felt dizzy as she fought to keep her emotions and mind in check. Aralyne's overwhelming sense of despair was trying to eat away at her. She shook her head, and tried to be alert like the males. Tulio had Excalibur drawn, and Danny's hands were glowing green with ghost energy as they looked around at any of the paths leading towards them.

One of the pathways was as dark as night, and in the shadows were glowing green eyes. The growl raised in volume when whatever was in the shadows flashed white fangs.

The creature leapt from the shadows, and the trio were surprised to see it was a large black wolf. Tulio swung at the wolf, but it swerved around the sword, and dodged the energy blasts from Danny, heading straight for Siren. Before she could focus her energy on her magic, the beast knocked her to the ground and snarled in her face. She turned her head aside so as not to inhale its putrid breath.

"Enjoying the dark recesses of your mind?" the wolf snarled at her.

"I don't even know you!" she snapped, struggling under his weight.

A flicker of light appeared in her mind as she heard Aralyne's voice say, _Gmork._

"Gmork?" Siren wheezed out.

The wolf laughed. "Knowing my name isn't going to do you any good."

His mouth opened wide, and a string of hot saliva dripped down onto Siren's cheek. She couldn't focus. She couldn't think clearly. And it was making her angry. With a cry of rage, electricity shot from her hands onto the wolf's torso. He yelped and jumped off her. Danny rushed forward and grabbed Gmork by the tail.

"So long, fleabag," Danny said, pulling the wolf away from Siren, and blasting him away with ghost energy.

 _Run_. Aralyne's voice!

Siren shot to her feet. "We have to get out of here."

 _He'll be back. RUN!_

The link to Aralyne then faded once more to dark loneliness.

Siren took off down the maze, running as fast as she could, the males, close on her heels.

* * *

It didn't take very long for Catherine and Alyss to get to the fairy village. They met up with Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather to explain what was happening in Nesidy and that they really needed the Holy Bell to destroy Chernabog.

"Oh, dear," Fauna fretted, looking between her companions. "No one has asked for the Bell in centuries!"

"I'm afraid we have it heavily guarded," Flora said. "If the two of you are up to the task, you can try and receive the Bell."

"Are you kidding?! We're up for anything!" Catherine declared, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Well, if you're sure," said Fauna. She and the other fairies waved their wands, creating a door in a tree trunk.

"Good luck," said Merriweather. "You're going to need it."

Alyss and Catherine opened the door. As soon as they stepped through to the other side, the door shut behind them and vanished.

"That's not weird at all," Alyss remarked. The sisters glanced around to find they were surrounded by massive boulders, and there was the unmistakable feeling of being watched.

"Well, I guess we start searching," said Catherine.

She had only taken a couple of steps when something long and spiked, slammed into the ground before her. Catherine let out a startled shriek, and stumbled backwards.

"Holy Mother of Dragons," Alyss said, eyes wide as she gazed up at a large, spiked dragon.

The dragon roared, and inhaled.

"Take cover!" Catherine yelled. She scrambled to her feet and the sisters dodged a stream of fire erupting from the reptile's mouth. Frustrated on missing its prey, the dragon batted at the girls with one of its wings and managed to knock Alyss off course. Catherine ran and helped her sister to her feet. The girls then ducked behind a giant boulder as the dragon let out another stream of fire.

"Okay, so this is going to be a bit tougher than we thought," Alyss sighed, brushing dirt off her dress. "Let's try an aerial advantage."

Catherine and Alyss transformed into bluebirds and flew out from behind the boulder. The dragon gave chase without missing a beat. The girls dodged more fire, and swerved around the sky, trying to disorient the dragon. There were a couple of near misses and at one point, Catherine lost a couple of tail feathers.

The dragon suddenly changed course and vanished from their sight. The sisters perched themselves on a boulder, panting for air and glanced around.

"Where'd it go?" Alyss inquired.

The dragon suddenly appeared out of nowhere, charging straight for them.

Alyss jumped into the air, ready to fly away, but Catherine held her back by her leg. "Wait!"

"Are you _crazy?!_ We're going to _die!_ "

"Trust me!"

The dragon came closer and closer. Its mouth was wide open to chomp up the birds.

"Now!" Catherine shouted at the last moment. She released her sister and the two of them bolted off the boulder. With a sickening crunch, the dragon slammed headfirst into the boulder and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

The sisters transformed back into humans and slowly crept to the dragon's head.

"Think it's still alive?" Alyss inquired.

"I don't know. Poke it with a stick," Catherine suggested.

"No, you poke it! It's your idea!"

Catherine pushed Alyss forward, then ducked behind the boulder in case the dragon woke up.

"Hey!" Alyss exclaimed, her hands pressed against the dragon's neck. She could feel the dragon breathing and figured it was out cold.

"Is it alive?" Catherine asked.

"No, just sleeping." Alyss pulled away from the dragon and joined her sister. "Thanks, by the way, for pretty much sacrificing me to this reptile!"

Catherine grinned at her. "It's what sisters are for!"

Alyss rolled her eyes, then glanced around them. "Now what?"

Catherine studied the area and spotted some sort of path leading out of the rocky area. "This way…. I think."

The two sisters ran off, leaving the dragon behind.

* * *

It seemed like a century ago when they had crossed paths with Gmork, and Siren and her companions were all on edge. Siren had made a mirror materialize in her hands to peer around corners for any other unexpected danger. This was a difficult task to perform as it meant they had to avoid touching the walls, as well. At one point, a slimy hand had grabbed Tulio's vest and started dragging him back into their clutches. He had to abandon that piece of clothing.

"Dammit! That was my favourite vest!" Tulio grumbled, looking down at his incomplete outfit.

"Shut up, Tulio," Siren sighed. She wasn't in the mood to hear the males complain about anything so trivial. She stuck the mirror out to check around a corner and frowned. "It's just mist. A golden mist," she said. Siren tucked the mirror away and led the boys around the corner. The three of them stopped before the mist and stared at it.

"Do you think it's dangerous?" Danny asked.

"Only one way to find out," Siren replied, then shoved Tulio forward into the mist.

"Hey!" Tulio exclaimed, stumbling before regaining his balance. "Why do I have to be the one to test it?!"

"Because, I say so, doofus," Siren said. "Now, how do you feel? Are you burning from acid?"

"No, I feel fine," he answered, waving his hand through the mist.

Siren and Danny took that as their cue to move forward.

The mist was cool and smelled like oranges. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

Tulio watched the mist swirl around his fingers for a while, not paying attention to his two companions.

"Tulio…."

He lifted his head to see Aralyne standing before him, wearing a yellow sundress and smiling. She rocked on the balls of her bare feet, and her hands were clasped behind her back.

"Aralyne?" he said in bewilderment.

Her voice sound distant and dream-like. "You have to choose, Tulio. Me… or Siren."

Siren stepped out from behind Aralyne and glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Choose?" he repeated.

"You have to choose," both Aralyne and Siren said simultaneously. "Only one of us can be dominant. Which will it be?"

His eyes darted between the two, unable to give an answer.

 _(Sorry, for the long wait, everyone. I had really bad writer's block. Slowly trudging through it. Hope you enjoyed!)_


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

 _(Brief lyrics in this chapter are from the song "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake.)_

"This isn't so bad," Danny said, sniffing the mist. The scent of oranges changed to something more flowery. Something that reminded him of Sam. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Daddy!" a couple of young voices shouted, and he suddenly felt people tugging on his hands. He opened his eyes to see two children latched onto him, both with black hair, but one had blue eyes like his, and the other had purple eyes like Sam.

 _Daddy?_

"Come on, Daddy! Mommy's waiting for us!" said the blue-eyed child. The two children began dragging Danny away until they stopped before an older woman who looked exactly like Sam Manson.

" _Sam?!_ " Danny gasped out, and everything began to click.

"I've missed you, Danny," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

* * *

Siren watched as the mist around her vanished and she suddenly found herself in a castle, sitting on a throne. Some music randomly started playing, and Tulio walked through a door into the room, wearing a very tight black outfit.

"Tulio, what's going on?" Siren demanded, looking about herself. "Where are we? We were just in the maze, looking for Aralyne. And now… we're here. Where ever _here_ is."

To her surprise, Tulio started dancing before her and began to sing.

" _I'm bringin' sexy back_

 _Them other boys don't know how to act"_

The villainess's eyes widened at the spectacle before her. _What the hell was going on?!_

" _I think it's special, what's behind your back_

 _So turn around and I'll pick up the slack"_

Tulio then began to strip, starting with his shirt. Her face flamed at what was going on, and her heart started pounding.

" _Dirty babe_

 _You see these shackles, baby_

 _I'm your slave_

 _I'll let you whip me if I misbehave_

 _It's just that no one makes me feel this way"_

 _It's a trap…._

Aralyne! There was another spark connected to Aralyne's mind that seemed to have awakened a bit. And Siren could understand why.

 _It's a trap…._

What's a trap? Siren wondered, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Tulio then moved forward, unzipping his pants in the process, and straddled her.

 _HE'S MINE!_

The sudden shout startled Siren, and she shoved Tulio off her lap. This wasn't real. He would never be so bold.

"You're not real," Siren declared, getting to her feet.

And just like that, everything around her vanished, the throne, the castle, the half-naked dancing Tulio. She was standing in the golden mist, and turned around to see Danny and a fully-clothed Tulio standing completely still, with their eyes glazed over.

"Danny? Tulio?" she said, shaking them by the shoulders. They didn't respond. "Guys!" Siren slapped them both across the face, and they blinked, breaking out of whatever visions they saw in their trance-like state.

"What the hell?" Danny muttered, placing a hand over his red cheek. "What was that for?"

"Because something isn't right," Siren said, avoiding eye-contact with Tulio. Her own vision made her _very_ uncomfortable. "It feels like a trap."

"Very good, Siren," a new voice hissed. The mist around them cleared up, and they saw in their path, perched on a massive spiderweb was a spider the size of a car.

"Oh, shit," she muttered, staring at the new threat before them.

"Clever of you to realize the visions I sent you weren't real. Did you enjoy my little gifts?"

"NO!" Siren automatically blurted out, her face becoming red. She could hear Catherine's voice teasing her already, _You've got a woman boner!_

"What do you want?" Danny demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" the spider sneered. "It's time for lunch!" It jumped off the web and landed behind the trio, blocking them from retreating.

"Okay, how do we defeat this thing?" Danny asked his companions.

"I don't know," Siren said, charging her hands with electricity.

"Well, how did you defeat it last time?" inquired the ghost-boy.

"It wasn't here last time!" both Tulio and Siren snapped.

The spider hurled itself at Tulio, right as he was pulling Excalibur out of its scabbard. He was unable to unsheathe the weapon in time, and jumped out of the way, tripping over his feet and falling over. The sword slid out of his grasp and stopped near the wall. A grotesque, slimy hand, latched onto the Excalibur.

"Seriously?" Siren yelled at him.

The spider bore down on Tulio, its pincers clicking excitedly.

Danny shot a ghost-ray at the spider, but it was like a mosquito bit - more of a nuisance than doing actual harm. The giant spider turned direction and scuttled after Danny instead. Within the limited space inside the maze, Danny couldn't fly very high or very far without either heading straight towards the spider or its massive web. The spider reached out and managed to grasp Danny by the foot with one of its long legs, and dangled the ghost-boy upside down. Danny shot more ghost-rays at it, but it had little effect.

"A little help here?" he shouted out, his voice thick with panic.

Magic didn't seem to have any effect on the spider so far, so maybe the only way to kill it was with a normal weapon? The only problem was, the ghouls inside the wall, still had Excalibur.

Siren stared at the wall for a second, biting her lip. Maybe fire could work on _them_ instead? Getting rid of the electricity, Siren made flames appear in her palms, and she threw the fireballs at the wall. The ghouls' moans automatically turned into shrieks of pain, and the one holding the sword, dropped the weapon. She quickly ran forward and scooped up Excalibur, but before she could get away, a slimy hand latched onto her hair.

She cried out in pain, and without looking back, she swung the sword behind her. There was a sick splat, and when she turned around, she found she had cut off the land of the ghoul that had grabbed her hair. Siren kicked it aside, and rushed over to Tulio, handing him Excalibur as he was getting to his feet.

With the spider still distracted with Danny, Tulio lunged forward, and sliced through three of its legs with one swing. The spider screeched and dropped Danny before toppling over. It tried to regain its balance, but Tulio chopped off more of its legs. The spider half scuttled, and half rolled towards its web, breaking the sticky barrier as it tried to get away. Tulio chased after it, disappearing around a corner.

"Tulio!" Siren and Danny shouted, running after him. He suddenly stepped around the corner covered in blood and looking exhausted.

"It's dead," he declared, wiping the sword clean on his pants.

A howl could suddenly be heard in the distance, and it sounded like it was getting closer.

"Gmork," Siren said. "We need to keep moving."

She took off running down the maze, and the males went after her.

* * *

Alyss and Catherine followed the mysterious path towards a cave at the foot of a mountain. And sitting before the cave's entrance was a creature that had the body of a lion and the head of a woman.

"A sphynx," Alyss muttered.

"Well, at least it's not another dragon," Catherine remarked. She then spoke aloud to the weird creature. "Excuse us. We need to get into that cave."

The sphynx regarded them with a bored expression, then said. "If you wish to pass, you must answer a riddle each. Answer correctly, and I will let you into the cave unharmed. Answer incorrectly and I kill you both. Choose not to answer at all, and you may walk away unharmed."

"Riddles!" Alyss exclaimed with a wide grin. "I got this!"

"First riddle is for you," the sphynx said, addressing Alyss.

" _It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,_

 _Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt._

 _It lies behind stars and under hills,_

 _And empty holes it fills._

 _It comes first and follows after,_

 _Ends life, kills laughter."_

Alyss rolled her eyes skyward, muttering to herself, but Catherine and the sphynx could obviously hear her. "Can't be seen. Wind can't be seen, but it can be felt and heard. So it can't really be wind or air, can it? Lies behind stars? The sky? But you can see the sky." She grinned, focusing on the sphynx once more. "The answer is dark."

The creature nodded. "Correct. Now the second riddle is for you," it said, turning to Catherine.

" _This thing all things devours:_

 _Birds, beasts, trees, flowers;_

 _Gnaws iron, bites steel;_

 _Grinds hard stones to meal;_

 _Slays king, ruins town,_

 _And beats high mountain down."_

Catherine gave the sphynx an _are-you-serious?_ look. She had learned this riddle a long time ago from some elves. Or were they dwarves? Either way, she knew the answer.

"It's time," Catherine said, and silently added, _Which is something we don't have to waste!_

"Correct," said the sphynx. "The two of you have successfully answered my riddles. You may pass." It stood up and moved out of the way of the cave's entrance.

"Thanks!" Alyss shouted to the sphynx, grabbing Catherine by the hand and dragging her into the cave.

The deeper the sisters trekked, the darker it became, until they had to slow down and feel their way forward. After a few minutes, the darkness lightened until the came to the end of the cave where they found the Holy Bell, and it was glowing with a pearlescent light.

"Oo! Shiny!" Catherine said, moving forward.

Together, the sisters reached out and touched opposite sides of the Bell at the same time. The Holy Bell's light brightened, blinding them. When the light faded, the girls blinked, and were surprised to find themselves back at the fairy village standing before Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. The bell was in the grasp of both Alyss and Catherine's hands.

"You two did it!" Fauna exclaimed, applauding them.

"Pft! Of course we did!" Catherine said, "We're just that baddass!"

"Thanks for your help!" Alyss said, and the two sisters began trudging their way back to Nesidy with the Holy Bell.

* * *

Siren, Tulio, and Danny finally made it out of the maze, and found themselves right outside a rundown Wal-Mart.

"Okay, so where _is_ Aralyne?" Danny inquired.

Siren felt exhausted and completely drained. If her life didn't depend on it, she would have quit right then and there. Instead, she blocked out Aralyne's depression and faced westward where a massive black cloud was swirling and steadily growing larger. She gulped and held back a shudder. Would she be able to keep control of herself once she reached the cloud?

"She's over there," she said, pointing towards the darkness. "Come on, we don't have much time to waste."

"I think it'd be faster if I fly us," said Danny. He grabbed his companions by the wrists and shot up into the sky, zooming towards the cloud. Within minutes, they came upon the destroyed university campus, the cloud swirling around the main building – the Student Memorial Building. Danny set them down in an empty parking lot.

"What is that?" Tulio wondered, staring up at the darkness before them.

"Aralyne," Siren said. "Or what she's feeling, at least."

They heard a familiar howl, nearby. Siren swiveled around, her heart pounding. Gmork couldn't be here! It wasn't possible! But there he was in the shadows, his green eyes and white teeth glinting maliciously. He stepped out into the light, chuckling gutturally.

"Are you really prepared to face the Nothing, Siren?" he hissed out.

"The Nothing?" Tulio demanded, unsheathing Excalibur, and pointing it at Gmork.

"The dark cloud," Siren replied, keeping a wary eye on the wolf. She formed flames in the palms of her hands, and was ready to chuck them at the beast. "It's the darkest part of any person. Their fears, loneliness, and so much more."

"You two go find Aralyne," Danny shouted. "I'll take care of this mutt!"

Tulio hesitated for a second, then lowered his weapon, grabbed Siren by the arm and pulled her towards the Student Memorial Building. She doused the flames, and peeked over her shoulder to see Danny charging for Gmork.

As soon as they entered the building, Siren led Tulio across the foyer and around a corner where the elevator and staircase were situated. The doors to the elevator were ripped open and the carriage looked like it had smashed to the ground years ago.

"Stairs it is," she muttered, and yanked the door open. She raced upward as best as she could, but once she came to the second landing, she stopped. Tulio almost slammed into her, and avoided smacking into her by swerving into the wall instead. She stared at the cloud hovering before her face and shuddered at the cold it seemed to emanate from within.

"Why'd we stop?!" Tulio demanded.

"I can't go any further," she muttered, and took a step back down the stairs.

"What?! What do you mean you can't go any further?! Aralyne's in trouble and you're going to back down now?!"

"Listen to me!" she snapped, "As soon as I stepped into that cloud, I will be useless! I _can't_ go any further without falling into despair like her! You're going to have to go alone! Now hurry, before Gmork catches up!"

Tulio shook his head, but didn't argue with her. He stepped into the cloud, leaving Siren behind. At first, he was a bit disoriented. There was a silence that unnerved him, and everything suddenly had a greyish tint to it. He glanced back to see Siren waiting for him outside the cloud, but it was like looking at her through murky water. Looked like he really was alone. Taking a deep breath, he ran up the stairs to the third and final landing. He pushed open the door and found himself in a long hall way. What very few tables and chairs that were available were thrown about. One wall was nothing but broken windows, the glass crunching beneath his feet with each step he took. At the far end of the hall were a set of double doors that were hanging crookedly off their hinges. He walked across the long hallway to the double doors, and climbed over them into a library. Just like in the hall, tables and chairs were scattered everywhere. Torn books and pages were situated in a large pile in the centre of the library, and sitting on that pile was…

"Aralyne!" Tulio exclaimed, running towards her.

She didn't acknowledge his presence other than by saying, "It's all meaningless, all of it."

"What is?" he inquired, kneeling down beside her.

"I should have known better. He chose her instead of me. Tulio chose her instead of me."

"Aralyne, no," he said, taking hold of her hands. "I don't choose _anyone_ over you!"

Her head lifted, and she gazed at him with dull eyes. "Make a choice, Tulio. Me or Siren."

Tulio reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears. "I choose you. _All_ of you." He cupped her face and kissed her.

 _(Thank you, Princess Kanako for all your help, and the laughs in this chapter!)_


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine

 _(Songs in this chapter are "If We Hold on Together" by Diana Ross, "Looking Through Your Eyes" by LeAnn Rimes, and "Far Longer Than Forever" – with a few alterations – from the movie "The Swan Princess".)_

A rush of warmth shot out from them, and when he pulled away from her, the grey tint was washed away by bits of colour. All around them, the black cloud grew smaller and smaller until it vanished.

"Tulio," Aralyne said, gazing up at him, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Aralyne, do you know where you are, at this minute?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It's dark. Very dark. I can't see anything."

"How did you get there?" Tulio demanded.

"Eric."

Tulio felt a rush of anger. He regretted not letting Eric die all those times in the past, or even killing Eric himself.

"Okay, listen to me, Aralyne, I will find you."

"How?" she inquired. "Eric said no one will be able to hear me even if I screamed. I don't even know where he has me locked up."

"Sing, and I'll be able to hear."

"Sing?"

"Yes, sing so I can find my way to you."

* * *

I inhaled sharply and blinked. My cell was still as dark and silent as ever, and my face was wet from my tears. Had a fallen asleep, or did I simply space out? How long have I been here?

 _Sing_.

I had heard Tulio's voice, almost as if he were in here with me. He told me to sing and that he would find me. I didn't know how since this room was soundproof, but I had to trust him, didn't I?

My voice started off weak and shaky, but little by little, it grew stronger.

" _Don't lose your way_

 _With each passing day_

 _You've come so far_

 _Don't throw it away_

 _Live believing_

 _Dreams are for weaving_

 _Wonders are waiting to start_

 _Live your story_

 _Faith, hope, and glory_

 _Hold to the truth in your heart_

 _If we hold together_

 _I know our dreams will never die_

 _Dreams see us through to forever_

 _Where clouds roll by_

 _For you and I_

 _Souls in the wind_

 _Must learn how to bend_

 _Seek out a star_

 _Hold on to the end_

 _Valley, mountain_

 _There is a fountain_

 _Washes our tears all away_

 _Words are swaying_

 _Someone is praying_

 _Please let us come home to stay_

 _If we hold on together_

 _I know our dreams will never die_

 _Dreams see us through to forever_

 _Where clouds roll by_

 _For you and I_

 _When we are out there in the dark_

 _We'll dream about the sun_

 _In the dark we'll feel the light_

 _Warm our hearts, everyone_

 _If we hold on together_

 _I know our dreams will never die_

 _Dreams see us through to forever_

 _As high as souls can fly_

 _The clouds roll by_

 _For you and I"_

For Tulio, I will sing.

* * *

Siren anxiously stood on the staircase, staring at the cloud until it finally receded and vanished all together. Whatever Tulio did up there, it worked! She started racing up, past the second landing, and made it to the third. When she opened the door, she almost smacked right into Tulio.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Eric has her. She doesn't know where she is, but it's dark and she said no one is able to hear her."

"But she could be anywhere! My life depends on us finding her!" Siren snapped.

"I know, but trust me on this," Tulio remarked. "Come on. Let's go get Danny and get out of here."

Tulio grasped Siren's hand, and dragged her back down the stairs until they came to the bottom landing. After leaving the stairway, and running across the building's foyer, they made it outside to see Danny was still battling with Gmork, but something was wrong with the wolf. He was slowing down.

"What's happening?" Gmork panted and glanced up at the Student Memorial Building. Now that the Nothing was gone, the wolf seemed to be fading away as well. His green eyes focused on Siren and he snarled out, "You did this!" Leaving the ghost boy, Gmork, bounded towards Tulio and Siren, but before he could reach them, he suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"So everything's cool?" Danny asked, flying towards his companions.

"Not quite," Tulio said. "We still need to find Aralyne in the real world."

"And I'll get that information out of Eric one way or another," Siren growled. She grasped Danny by the wrist, and whilst still holding onto Tulio's hand, she transported the three of them out of her mind, and back into Tulio's bedroom. The mirror was laying on his bed completely unharmed.

* * *

 _Sing, so I can find my way to you._

I didn't feel so sad anymore, and I definitely felt a bit stronger. I wasn't going to break!

" _Look at the sky_

 _Tell me what do you see_

 _Just close your eyes_

 _And describe it to me_

 _The heavens are sparkling_

 _With starlight tonight_

 _That's what I see_

 _Through your eyes_

 _I see the Heavens_

 _Each time that you smile_

 _I hear your heartbeat_

 _Just go on for miles_

 _And suddenly I know_

 _My life is worth while_

 _That's what I see_

 _Through your eyes_

 _Here in the night_

 _I see the sun_

 _Here in the dark_

 _Our two hearts are one_

 _It's out of our hands_

 _We can't stop what we have begun_

 _And love just took me by surprise_

 _Looking through your eyes_

 _I look at myself_

 _And instead I see us_

 _Whoever I am now_

 _It feels like enough_

 _And I see a girl_

 _Who is learning to trust_

 _That's who I see through your eyes_

 _Here in the night_

 _I see the sun_

 _Here in the dark_

 _Our two hearts are one_

 _It's out of our hands_

 _We can't stop what we have begun_

 _And love just took me by surprise_

 _Looking through your eyes_

 _And there are some things we don't know_

 _Sometimes a heart just needs to go_

 _And there is so much I'll remember_

 _Underneath the open sky with you forever_

 _Here in the night_

 _I see the sun_

 _Here in the dark_

 _Our two hearts are one_

 _It's out of our hands_

 _We can't stop what we have begun_

 _And love just took me by surprise_

 _Looking through your eyes_

 _Looking through your eyes"_

* * *

When Siren, Tulio, and Danny made it outside, the very first person they ran into was none other than Eric, himself.

"Where's Aralyne?!" Tulio demanded, glaring at his nemesis. He never did forgive the first time Eric broke her heart.

Eric smirked. "Safe. Physically anyway. I imagine by now, she's going through a dark time. I have found that the best way to destroy someone is to tear them apart from the inside out. Make them beg for death."

With a cry of rage, Siren suddenly started glowing black, and waved her arms. A piece of the nearest building broke off, and flew towards Eric. He was knocked backward into a separate building. Eric fell to the ground, laughing, banged up, and blood dripping from his mouth. He wiped the blood away and stood up.

"How predictable. You came to save your lifeline. But I honestly think you've gone a bit soft, Siren. I always wondered why you kept _him_ alive," Eric remarked, nodding towards Tulio.

"That's none of your concern," Siren snarled. Using her magic, she made a glowing black light surround Eric, and she slammed his body around into different buildings. " _Where is she?!_ "

"She's been right under your nose this entire time," Eric sneered, blood now covering his face. "But you'll still never find her."

Siren stared at him for a second longer, then flicked her wrist. Eric's body suddenly exploded in a hailstorm of blood and guts, covering the street and nearby buildings. The black light around her faded, and she slumped to the ground, exhausted.

"Siren!" Tulio said, kneeling beside her, and supporting her upper body.

"Find her," she said weakly, then passed out.

"That was horrifying," Danny said, cringing. "I now see that Siren had been going easy on all of us this entire time."

"Take her back to my house," Tulio said, picking her up, and handing her to the ghost boy. "I'm going to find Aralyne."

"Good luck," Danny said, and flew off with the villainess.

For a moment, Tulio stood there, replaying Eric's words. _She's been right under your nose this entire time_. That means she never left Nesidy, but where in the town, could she possibly be that was dark and soundproof so no one could hear screaming? Who would even need to _create_ a soundproof room?

The only thing that came to mind were asylums but there wasn't one in Nesidy. All of the deranged people were either villains or in wonderland. But an asylum was a hospital, right? What if the hospital had a room like that for the rare Joker-type character? It was his only shot.

Tulio turned and bolted towards the hospital.

* * *

I suddenly felt exhausted and nearly passed out right then and there. But I couldn't. Tulio had to find me. I couldn't stop singing! With a weary voice, I continued on.

" _If I could leave this cell_

 _I'd run to him today_

 _And somehow I know he's on his way to me_

 _Tulio, you and I were meant to be_

 _Far longer than forever_

 _I'll hold you in my heart_

 _It's almost like you're here with me_

 _Although we're far apart_

 _Far longer than forever_

 _As constant as a star_

 _I close my eyes and I am where you are_

 _As sure as the dawn brings the sunrise_

 _We've an unshakable bond_

 _Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond_

 _Far longer than forever_

 _I swear that I'll be true_

 _I've made an everlasting vow to find a way to you_

 _Far longer than forever_

 _Like no love ever known_

 _And with your love_

 _I'll never be alone_

 _Far longer than forever_

 _Much stronger than forever_

 _And with your love_

 _I'll never be alone"_

There was a hiss as the door was being opened, and I quickly scrambled out of the way, turning towards the blinding light. Someone stood in the doorway.

"Aralyne," a familiar voice said, sounding relieved.

"T-Tulio?" I stammered, straining my eyes until I could barely make him out. I clapped a hand to my mouth, and felt fresh tears streaming down my face. " _Tulio!_ " I rushed forward, and threw myself at him, holding on to him as if my life depended on it. "You found me."

"Did you ever doubt I would?" he inquired, embracing me. He then took hold of my hand, and pulled me from my dark, silent prison. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

We were in a hallway, and at the end of it was an open door leading to outside. We ran out into the sunshine and I glanced back for a second to see I had just come out of the hospital – apparently it was a part of the building that was never used. So I assumed by how abandoned the door and hallway looked.

"Eric?" I inquired, cringing at the thought of my ex-boyfriend.

"He's dead," Tulio said. "Siren got a hold of him."

"Oh," I replied. I didn't want to know the details. If she was involved, then it didn't end well. "And her?"

"At my house. She's been using her magic in excess again."

I knew what that meant. She had exhausted herself. Maybe that's why I felt so tired, too. In fact, my movements were pretty sluggish, and more than anything, I just wanted to curl up and sleep. My eyelids started drooping, and I couldn't focus on what was in front of me. I felt myself stumble, and Tulio caught me before I hit the ground.

"Aralyne, what's wrong?" he demanded.

"Sleepy," I murmured, leaning against him. My eyes finally closed right as he lifted me into his arms. I was conscious for maybe a couple seconds more, until sleep consumed me.

* * *

"Aralyne, wake up," Tulio said, shaking the woman in his arms. She didn't respond and for a second, he thought he was too late to save her, but saw she was breathing. Could Siren exhausting herself affect Aralyne, too? "Dammit!"

Tulio started jogging down the street, hoping to find Danny again, or anyone else he trusted to leave with Aralyne. Someone had to take care of Chernabog before more zombies popped up, and it looked like it wasn't going to be the Saviour or the Villainess.

No sooner had he finished that thought when a large black demon with glowing red eyes appeared before him, laughing. It was Chernabog himself.

"Killing Aralyne should be easy," the demon sneered, pointing a finger at Tulio.

Tulio tensed up. Would he be able to dodge Chernabog's magic in time? He was ready and willing to die for Aralyne, but what if he turned into a zombie, too? Who would protect her from him?

Chernabog's finger began to glow with a red light….

And the sound of a bell tolling echoed around Nesidy.

The demon screamed, slamming his hands over his pointed ears.

At first, Tulio was confused, but then saw Catherine and Alyss nearby, the latter holding a bell, and the former striking it with a piece of rubble. Catherine hit the bell again, another toll echoing in the city.

Chernabog's scream increased in volume until he suddenly exploded into a million black ash flakes.

"Well, that was an adventure," Alyss said, setting the bell down. "What'd we miss?"

Tulio sighed in relief. "I'll tell you girls later. I'm going to take Aralyne to the Benbow Inn."

Catherine shrugged. "Come on, Alyss. Let's see what Lao Shi wants us to do with the bell!"


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

 _(Songs in this chapter are "Me & My Girls" by Selena Gomez, "Please Don't Stop the Music" the Pitch Perfect version, and "Body Heat" by Selena Gomez)_

I groaned and opened my eyes to find I was in my room at the Benbow Inn. Alyss and Catherine were standing above me, looking worried and had forced smiles on their faces.

"You're awake!" Catherine said, sounding relieved.

I sat up and eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you two looking at me like that? What's going on? Where's Tulio?" The last thing I remembered was Tulio telling me Eric was dead before I passed out on the street.

"You've been asleep for two days," Alyss replied.

I felt my heart drop. " _Two days?!_ " I squeaked.

Catherine said, "Siren overworked herself with her magic, fighting Eric. She passed out and so did you shortly after. We were afraid she nearly killed the both of you with how much power she used. But you're awake now, which means she probably is, too."

"And Tulio?" I asked.

"With her," Alyss said. "He wanted to make sure she was okay, since she's the bonehead that put the two of you in this state."

Why wasn't I surprised? With a sigh, I got out of bed, and stood on wobbly legs. Okay. Two days asleep could really take a toll on you.

"Alyss will go get you dinner, and I'll help you get dressed," Catherine said, and Alyss left the room.

"Dinner?" I repeated.

"Yes. It's almost sundown," said Catherine, going up to the wardrobe and grabbing some clothes. She returned to my side and handed me a spaghetti-strap denim top, and some tight blue jeans.

"Um, what are these for?" I inquired, holding up the top.

"Alyss and I found this club and wanted to go out dancing. Now that you're up, you can join us."

I didn't want to stay in bed any longer, so I agreed to go with them. She helped hold me steady whilst I changed pants, and then I put on the denim top. It was really tight, and accentuated my curves. By then, Alyss had returned with a bowl of clam chowder. I eagerly ate the food whilst the sisters changed into clothes fit for the club.

When I had finished, I quickly tamed my hair, and we left the room. I dropped the dirty bowl off in the kitchen, and we exited the Benbow Inn. As the sisters led me to the club, they told me everything that had happened when I had been kidnapped by Eric, and repeated what Tulio had told them. By the time they had finished their tale, we had arrived at the club. Dani Fenton was the bouncer, and allowed us in.

Inside the club was dark with a multitude of strobe lights, and the music was so loud, I could feel my bones vibrating.

"Come on!" Alyss shouted, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the dance floor with Catherine right behind me. We were quickly swallowed up by the sea of people and began dancing right as a new song played.

" _Drop down on a desert ride  
Just outside the 95  
Never felt more, more alive  
I got my chicas by my side_

 _And if we want it, we take it  
If we need money, we make it  
Nobody knows if we fake it  
You like to watch while we shake it  
I know we're making you thirsty  
You want us all in the worst way  
But you don't understand  
I don't need a man_

 _Me and my girls, me and my girls  
Me and my, me and my, me and my, me and my girls  
Me and my girls, me and my girls  
No jodas, nosotras  
Me and my girls  
Me and my girls_

 _The night is dark but the moon is bright  
We're stirring up this summer night  
Tan skin looks damn good in white  
Stripping down by the Hollywood sign_

 _And if we want it, we take it  
If we need money, we make it  
Nobody knows if we fake it  
You like to watch while we shake it  
I know we're making you thirsty  
You want us all in the worst way  
But you don't understand  
I don't need a man_

 _Me and my girls, me and my girls  
Me and my, me and my, me and my, me and my girls  
Me and my girls, me and my girls  
No jodas, nosotras  
Me and my girls  
Me and my girls_

 _I'm going home with who I came with  
And who I came with's not you  
I'm going home with who I came with  
And who I came with's not you  
I'm going home with who I came with  
And who I came with's not you  
I'm going home with who I came with  
And who I came with's  
Me and my girls, me and my girls  
You can look, but don't touch  
I'm not here to hook up  
I'm just here to turn up  
Tonight is just us_

 _Me and my girls (tonight)  
Me and my girls  
Me and my girls  
No jodas, nosotras  
Me and my girls"_

* * *

Siren woke up feeling refreshed and with a strong urge to dance. She climbed out of Tulio's bed, and looked down at the clothes she wore for who knows how long. She snapped her fingers and she was instantly wearing a new outfit. Her top was a made of a black transparent lace, so that her black bra was seen, and she wore a tight, short black skirt. With a satisfied smile, she stepped out of Tulio's room and found him in the kitchen, taking a swig from a bottle of whiskey. Upon seeing her in her new outfit, he inhaled and began coughing.

"Where are you going?" he asked, once he caught his breath.

"Out," she replied, walking past him. She loved his reaction and planned on milking it for all it was worth.

"Maybe you shouldn't," he said, getting up from the table and running after her.

"Come if you must, Tulio, but I'm going to go enjoy myself."

She smirked as he followed her out of the house, grumbling to himself.

If she was correct, she would end up in the same place as Aralyne, and it has been a while since Siren last tortured the little goody-goody.

* * *

I was really enjoying myself, and laughing with the girls, until Catherine looked over my shoulder and scowled. "Oh, hell."

"What?" I said, turning around. The smile slid right off my face when I saw Siren enter the club, followed shortly by Tulio. Everyone gave her wary looks and avoided being near her.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Alyss demanded.

Siren looked around until her scarlet gaze landed on me. She smirked, and grabbed Tulio by the hand, pulling him onto the dance floor. He saw me and opened his mouth to speak, but she turned him away from me and got him to start dancing.

" _Please don't stop the_

 _Please don't stop the_

 _Please don't stop the music_

 _Please don't stop the music  
Please don't stop the music  
Please don't stop the music  
_

 _It's getting late, I'm making my way over to my favorite place  
I gotta get my body moving, shake the stress away  
I wasn't looking for nobody when you looked my way  
Possible candidate, yeah_

 _Who knew, that you'd be up in here looking like you do  
You're makin' staying over here impossible  
Baby, I'm a say your aura is incredible  
If you don't have to go, don't_

 _Do you know what you started? I just came here to party  
But now we're rockin' on the dance floor, actin' naughty  
Your hands around my waist just let the music play  
We're hand in hand, chest to chest, and now we're face to face"_

I stood there glaring at Siren, my usual hatred for her bubbling to the surface. She had her body pressed up against him and his hands were around her waist. I became even more furious when I realized what she was wearing. As revealing as my outfit was, it was nothing compared to hers. You could practically see her, and I suddenly realized with mortification – _my –_ breasts!

" _I wanna take you away  
Let's escape into the music  
DJ, let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin' to it  
Please don't stop the, please don't stop the, please don't stop the music  
I wanna take you away  
Let's escape into the music  
DJ, let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin' to it  
Please don't stop the, please don't stop the, please don't stop the music_

 _Baby, are you ready 'cause it's gettin' close  
Don't you feel the passion ready to explode?  
What goes on between us no one has to know  
This is a private show_

 _Do you know what you started? I just came here to party  
But now we're rockin' on the dance floor, actin' naughty  
Your hands around my waist just let the music play  
We're hand in hand, chest to chest, and now we're face to face_

 _I wanna take you away  
Let's escape into the music  
DJ, let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin' to it  
Please don't stop the, please don't stop the, please don't stop the music  
I wanna take you away  
Let's escape into the music  
DJ, let it play  
I just can't refuse it  
Like the way you do this  
Keep on rockin' to it  
Please don't stop the, please don't stop the, please don't stop the music_

 _The music_

 _Please don't stop the music"_

"Come on, let's go somewhere else," Alyss said, grabbing my arm.

"No," I said, shaking myself free. "If Siren wants to play dirty, then so will I."

"Yeah! Go get back your man!" Catherine cheered for me.

I squared my shoulders and walked up to Tulio right as another song started. I bumped Siren out of the way and danced sensually in front of Tulio. She bristled at me, and I simply smirked at her. Tulio was startled at first, but then danced, his arms wrapping around me.

" _I'm burning, I'm ready to surrender  
Like a diamond, I need a little pressure  
So press me down  
Till I scream  
If you're the flame, I'm kerosene  
I'm burning up, baby_

 _All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Oh my God it feels amazing when you hold me close  
Know me like the summer, baby, don't let go_

 _I got body heat  
(I'm burning up, baby)  
Got body heat  
(All I want is your body)  
Got body heat  
Burn it up, burn it up  
So give it up, give it up  
All I need, all I need is your body heat_

 _I'm restless, craving your attention  
My red lips have found a new obsession  
Let's go all night  
Just you and me  
If you're the flame, I'm kerosene  
I'm burning up, baby_

 _All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Oh my God it feels amazing when you hold me close  
Know me like the summer, baby don't let go_

 _I got body heat  
(I'm burning up, baby)  
Got body heat  
(All I want is your body)  
Got body heat  
Burn it up, burn it up  
So give it up, give it up  
All I need, all I need is your body heat_

 _All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me_

 _I'm burning up, burning up (I like it)  
Give me body, give me body, give me body right next to me  
I'm burning up, burning up (I like it)  
Give me body, give me body, give me body right next to me_

 _We're connected by the sun  
And all of the stars above  
You melt me and my body feels no shame  
And I don't care tonight  
If it burns too bright  
Because baby that's why I came_

 _All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me_

 _Give me body, give me body, give me body right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Right next to me  
All I need, all I need is your body heat  
Oh my God it feels amazing when you hold me close  
Know me like the summer, baby, don't let go_

 _Body heat, I'm burning my baby  
Body heat, all I want is your body  
Need your body, need your body  
Need your body, need your body, right next to me  
That body heat, all I need, all I need is your body heat  
That body heat, turn it up turn it up  
So give it up give it up  
All I need, all I need is your body heat"_

As soon as the song ended, I grabbed Tulio by the front of the shirt, and pulled him down to my level to kiss him. I could sense his hunger as he pulled me in closer. When we broke apart, I looked over at Siren. She was no longer glaring, but had a secretive smile on her lips.

"Oh, sweetheart, the game is on," she said, and pushed me out of Tulio's arms.

I stumbled, and almost fell over, but Alyss was there to catch me.

Siren grabbed Tulio's hand and dragged him away from me. He shot me an apologetic look.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

 _(Songs in the chapter are "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" by Jordin Sparks, and "True Love" by Jordan Fisher)_

I stood there and glared at Siren as she got Tulio to dance with her once more. There was no way in hell I was going to let her win this game.

" _(S-S-S-S-) S.O.S  
(S-S-S-S-) S.O.S_

 _Whats up girlfriend  
Something's goin' on  
You got a look about you  
Tell me what's wrong  
(Is that your) boyfriend?  
Dancing with that girl on the floor  
We gotta dance now  
Time to show our weapons of choice"_

Whilst Siren was swaying her hips for Tulio, I marched right up to them, and bumped her out of the way once more. I grabbed Tulio's hand and pulled him away from her. He lifted me up into the air, and dipped me before twirling me about.

" _S.O.S  
Is All I Need to send  
Just A Little Text  
I'm Calling All The Girls  
(F-F-F-F-) F.Y.I  
You Know it's not the end  
Don't take it lying down  
No crying now it's your world_

 _Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away  
Just Get the Groove  
And then he'll come back to you again  
(Let it Play!)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away  
This groove he can't ignore  
He won't leave you anymore  
(Let it Play!)"_

Siren appeared out of nowhere, dancing, and inserted herself between Tulio and me. He and I were forced to release hand contact. Is that really the best she could do?

" _S.O.S  
(S-S-S-S-) S.O.S  
S.O.S_

 _That crazy chick  
Don't know who she's messin' with  
Look in her eyes  
She's mentally undressing him  
(Now Listen) girlfriend  
Better step back right now  
Better get your hands off  
(Yeah) 'Cos we' about to get down"_

I twirled closer to him, bypassing Siren. Once I was close enough, I grabbed his hands and continued dancing with him. He didn't seem fazed by the constant change in partners and kept moving in sync with us.

" _S.O.S  
I'm calling out again  
Just a little text  
And you're surrounded by your girls  
(F-F-F-F-) F.Y.I know how its gonna end  
Won't take it lying down  
No crying now it's your world_

 _Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away  
Just Get the Groove  
And then he'll come back to you again  
(Let it Play!)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away  
This groove he can't ignore  
He won't leave you anymore"_

Siren rushed forward, and wrapped her arms around Tulio's waist, pulling him away from me. She danced sensually upon him.

" _Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away  
Just Get the Groove (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
And then he'll come back to you again  
(Let it Play!)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away  
This groove he can't ignore (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
He won't leave you anymore  
(Let it Play!)"_

When Tulio glanced my way, I lowered my lids seductively and motioned for him to come closer. He smirked and moved my way, leaving Siren behind. She stared after him, shocked.

" _Get it on, no one stands a chance  
Can't get enough and when we start to dance  
Come with me now  
Gonna shake it down (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
Just blow it up  
Gonna hit the ground  
(Hit the ground!)  
Get it on no one stands a chance  
Can't get enough (Oh whoa)  
And when we start to dance  
Come with me now  
Gonna shake it down (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
Just blow it up  
Gonna hit the ground  
(Hit the ground!)"_

Taking enough of this, Siren ran forward and pushed Tulio away from me. We squared off for a heartbeat before she raised her hands to no doubt scratch my eyes out. I grabbed her by the wrists to prevent her from doing so, and we wrestled like that for a while.

" _Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away  
Just Get the Groove (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
And then he'll come back to you again (he'll come back to you oh whoa)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away (get away)  
This groove he can't ignore (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
He won't leave you anymore  
(Let it Play!)"_

Tulio jumped in between us, and pushed us apart. "Knock it off!" he shouted over the music.

Even with us separated, Siren and I glared at each other, each of us grasping one of Tulio's hands.

 _"Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
Just Get the Groove  
And then he'll come back to you again  
(Let it Play!)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
This groove he can't ignore  
He won't leave you anymore  
(Let it Play!)"_

Siren and I pulled Tulio back and forth between us, each intending to keep him for ourselves. Tulio was trying to break free of our grasps, but we had no intention of letting him go.

 _"Let The Music Play  
He Won't Get Away (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
Just Get the Groove  
And then he'll come back to you again  
(No, No, No)  
Let the music play  
He won't get away (S-S-S-S-S.O.S)  
This groove he can't ignore  
He won't leave you anymore  
(Let it Play!)"_

The desperation was evident in Siren's face. She suddenly leapt forward, threw her arms around him, and kissed him passionately. His hand slid from mine as he reached for her.

My eyes were stinging with unshed tears, and I swiveled around, storming away from them. Catherine and Alyss rushed towards my side.

"Oh, duck, I'm so sorry," said Catherine, giving me a quick hug.

"Want me to kick him in the balls?" Alyss asked.

"No," I muttered and went to go sit at the bar.

* * *

Tulio pushed Siren away and gazed down at her in confusion. He didn't mind kissing her, really, since she was merely a part of Aralyne, but it was so predictable of the villainess to use him as a way of torturing Aralyne.

"Oh, Tulio, don't you get it," she said with a snide smile, "you're _mine_. You always have been. And if you go anywhere near Aralyne again, I will make sure she suffers. Am I understood?"

He stared down at her, his lips thinning out into a thin line. She wasn't joking around. Tulio knew Siren would never kill Aralyne without killing herself, but she could always give herself a broken arm or such. He couldn't allow Aralyne to suffer, so he nodded his agreement.

* * *

The sisters sat beside me at the bar whilst I drank my anger away with whiskey. The alcohol was strong and made me cough at first, but I quickly got used to it.

After a while, I glanced up to see Tulio stepping outside a side door to the club. And to my absolute delight, he was Siren-free.

"I'll be right back," I said, jumping up from my stool. Not the smartest move. The alcohol messed with my brain, and I got a bit dizzy, nearly toppling over. Once I cleared my mind, I ran out the same door Tulio had walked out of, and found myself in an alley. He standing some distance off.

"Tulio?" I hesitantly called out.

He turned to me and, to my utter astonishment, frowned. "What do you want?" he growled out. My mouth dropped at his tone of voice.

"I – I just wanted to see you," I replied.

"I don't want to see you. Get out of here, Aralyne."

"But –"

"I said _get out of here!_ " he snapped at me. "In fact, I never want to see you again!"

"Did Siren do something to you?" I asked. "Is that why you're acting like this?"

"Leave her out of this," he snarled. "This is between you and me."

"She did, didn't she?"

Tulio stormed my way, and suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me. He yelled directly in my face, making me cringe. " _SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, AND STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!_ "

Fresh tears welled up in my eyes, and rolled down my cheeks. For a second, I thought I saw concern in his piercing blue gaze, but it was quickly replaced by anger. He released me, and I stumbled backward into the wall of the club. Tulio turned and marched out of the alley into the dark night, leaving me behind.

Siren must have cast some sort of spell on Tulio for him to act that way to me. Wiping the tears from my face, I vowed to break whatever enchantment she had on him.

* * *

Tulio walked back to his house, not bothering to get Siren from the club. She could take care of herself. After her little threat, he needed some alone time, and to his horror, Aralyne followed him outside. He hated how he treated her, but it was the only way to keep her away from him.

" _If I could do it all over  
Maybe I'd do it different  
Maybe I wouldn't be here  
In this position_

 _I found you then I lost you  
Looking back is torture  
And it hurts to know I let you go  
You live right around the corner_

 _And I could've had it all, could've had it all_

 _True love, I know I had it  
True love was so hard to find  
True love, if I could get it back  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _True love is an inspiration  
True love, it was mine oh mine  
True love, I'd never let it go  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _Feeling it all around me  
Wondering how I blew it  
And I wanna know the secret  
Of how they do it_

 _There's no such thing as perfection  
I'm still learning that lesson  
And to forgive is key to forgetting me  
And I'm staring at my reflection_

 _And I could've had it all, could've had it all_

 _True love, I know I had it  
True love was so hard to find  
True love, if I could get it back  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _True love is an inspiration  
True love, it was mine oh mine  
True love, I'd never let it go  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _If I knew then what I do now, I'd be with you tonight  
If I knew then what I do now, we'd be alright  
And I could've had it all_

 _True love  
True love  
True love  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _True love  
True love  
True love  
I'd never let it go this time_

 _True love is an inspiration  
True love, it was mine oh mine  
True love, if I could get it back  
I'd never let it go  
I'd never let it go this time"_

By the time Tulio was home, he was surprised to find Siren there, waiting for him. Teleportation, no doubt. He slammed the front door shut, and intended to go to his room, but Siren blocked his path.

"You left me, Tulio," she said, exaggerating a pout.

"You told me to stay away from Aralyne, so I left the club," he coolly remarked, swerving around her.

Siren grinned and followed him into the room. "So you do listen to me!"

"What do you want now?" he demanded, irritated she wouldn't leave him alone.

"The thing is, Tulio, I don't fully trust you," she replied. "No matter what I say, your heart will always remain loyal to Aralyne. So now I have to ensure that you remain mine forever. Aphrodite."

The zombie goddess materialized in the room, oozing black blood from her empty eye sockets.

Tulio eyed Aphrodite skeptically. Was he going to be turned into a zombie, and sent on a killing spree?

"Aphrodite, make Tulio love me and only me. Make sure his heart never wanders and that he will forever be mine."

The goddess nodded and pointed at Tulio. She struck him with a pink light, and for a moment, his eyes glowed pink before the light faded away entirely. Tulio's heart thundered in his chest as he gazed upon Siren. The villainess smirked, and waved her hand, causing the goddess to vanish.

"Now that's more like it," Siren purred, stalking forward. She forced Tulio to sit on the bed, and straddled his hips. Her lips hungrily sought out his. He didn't even resist, and pulled her in closer. His hands possessively slid up under her shirt as they deepened the kiss.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

Tulio awoke to find Siren already sitting up in bed, the sheets wrapped around her naked form. The two of them had been together just about every night for the past two weeks, and he wasn't entirely against it. Not that he had a choice after the spell Aphrodite had cast upon him.

"I was waiting for you to wake up," she purred, then crawled over and straddled him. She could feel him becoming aroused, as he suddenly leaned up to capture her lips.

"Hold on, big boy," she breathed, breaking the kiss. "I need something from you first. Something that'll bring us closer for when we rule all of Incantationen."

"Anything," he murmured, and went right back to kissing her, his arms wrapping around her waist.

One of Siren's own hands slid up his chest, only to rest right over his heart. It glowed an eerie black for a moment before she thrust it into his torso.

Tulio felt an unbearable amount of pain coursing through his body, and he pulled away from the kiss, screaming. He stopped right as Siren pulled her hand back out and held his heart in her palm. Tulio was panting and staring at her. She watched in delight as his eyes went from a piercing blue to a sinister scarlet just like hers.

"Perfect," she said, a sly grin spreading across her lips. Siren crawled off of him, and jumped out of bed, heading towards the dresser. She grabbed her magic mirror from atop the dresser, and dropped the heart inside the glass. No one would ever be able to find it in there.

The villainess turned back to her lover. "Now, let's get back to business."

* * *

I know I made a vow a couple weeks ago to break whatever spell Siren had on Tulio, but I was painfully reminded of my Queenly duties. Thank you, Lao Shi. Anyways, I had spent so much time helping people out after everything – and I do mean _everything_ – that had happened since the last time I did my job. Which, by the way, I can't even remember when that was.

So, I finally had a free day, and I was going to head on over to the library with Catherine and Alyss to see if we could find anything on how to break a love spell. It was breakfast time when we got to the bottom floor of the Benbow Inn, and customers were digging into their morning meals.

"Wait!" Catherine suddenly yelled, grabbing Alyss and me by the arms. Her nose was up in the air, and she took a big whiff. "I smell ham! It's music to my nose!" She released us, and took off running towards the kitchen.

"Ham?!" Alyss echoed and went after her sister.

Well, I guess I couldn't let them skip breakfast. But as soon as they were finished, we were heading straight for the library!

I took a seat at a table to wait for them. It had only been a couple of minutes when the front door to the inn opened, and an angel baby flew inside. In his hand was a bow, and a quiver full of arrows was on his back. I was startled to hear the baby have an adult voice and had a Spanish accent.

"Hola, babies! Que tal? It's Cupid, king of the loving!"

My jaw dropped. Cupid? As in _the_ cupid?

He flew right up to me. "You are Queen Aralyne, yes?"

I nodded mutely, then shook my head and scowled. "What do _you_ want?"

"Easy, chica. I heard about your little problem with Tulio and Siren, but you mustn't blame all your romantic boo-boos on the Cupid. Love's not easy to control, even with my precious little love sticks!"

Damn right, I blamed him! I wouldn't be going through all this crap if he had kept his love arrows off of me! He startled me by hanging the quiver around my neck, and shoving the bow in my hand.

"Speaking of which, take good care of them, Miss Saviour of the World! Papi's taking a day off to get his groove back!"

"Uh, what the heck am I supposed to do with these?" I asked, gesturing towards his stuff.

"I'll be back tonight. Just watch my stuff good, okay?"

He flew out the door before I could say anything else.

Great. Looks like I had to babysit Cupid's work. With a sigh, I gazed down at the bow in my hand and remembered the myth. Anyone hit by one of Cupid's arrows ill fall madly in love with the next person they see.

Forget going to library! The answer to my problem was literally just handed to me. I quickly shot to my feet and ran out the door. I wasn't going to bother Alyss and Catherine with this one. Let them enjoy their ham.

The first place I decided to look for Tulio was obviously his house. I only knew he was there because of that damn connection with Siren. Whatever I felt, she felt, and vice versa. You don't know how much self-control I had to obtain to not go over to their place every night and slaughter her. I also had learned to ignore a lot of her emotions; anger, fear, worry, hatred, lust….

Moving on.

I knew what they had been up to about an hour ago, and now I had to see if I could catch him alone. I went straight for his house, and when I got there, I was in time to see him and Siren stepping out together. I quickly jumped behind a tree before they could spot me. Siren glanced around to make sure no one was near, and thankfully her gaze just quickly raked over my hiding spot. The two of them then walked off together. I followed them to a museum, and kept well out of their sight. This couldn't possibly be like a _date_ date. I couldn't see Siren as an appreciator of the history and arts of this place. They took their time looking at statues and vases, but spent an incredibly long time in one exhibit of magic from the past. In fact, it wasn't even the entire exhibit, just some old black sceptre with a blue jewel in the centre.

Siren did another scan of the area, then quietly said, "I'll distract everyone. You grab the sceptre and go. I'll meet you back at the house." He nodded and she walked off back into a previous exhibit.

Distraction?

My silent inquiry was answered when I heard several vases being smashed, and cringed. There were shouts and I watched as Tulio took that as his opportunity to swipe the sceptre from its pedestal and took off running out an emergency exit.

Fix the museum, or chase after Tulio?

Yeah, no competition. I bolted out the emergency exit. He was about a block ahead of me, still sprinting, but I knew a few shortcuts. I went down a side road, and up another until I came to a halt right before him. He skid to a halt and stared down at me. Okay, it must have been a trick of the light or something, but his eyes were _red!_ Like, _Siren_ red! Maybe it was part of her love spell?

"Tulio."

"Stand aside, Aralyne, or face my wrath."

"Why are you doing this?" I inquired, gesturing to the sceptre with my free hand.

"Why shouldn't I?" he sneered. "Now move before you get hurt."

I was already hurting. "No," I firmly stated. I raised Cupid's bow, and knocked an arrow into place.

Tulio snickered. "You going to shoot me? You don't have the nerve to."

"I'm sorry, Tulio. But there's no way am I losing you to Siren."

I released the arrow, and it hit him directly in the chest. A small burst of black hearts surrounded him before melting and vanishing into the air. I anxiously bit my lip. Did it work?

Tulio seemed disoriented at first, but then focused on me. "Aralyne. I'm… so glad to see you." The corner of his mouth went up in a small smile. He took a step towards me, and placed a warm hand on my cheek.

He leaned in close and whispered into my ear, "You." My heart was thrumming in my chest. "Are." He took the bow and arrow from me, dropping them to the ground, and kicking them to the side. "Going to die."

" _What?!_ " I blurted out. Too late.

Tulio grabbed the front of my shirt, lifted me up, and threw me into a nearby building. A hit the wall pretty hard, my vision blacking out for a second from the impact. I quickly scrambled to my feet as he stalked towards me.

"Why?" I managed to choke out before the tears threatened to appear in my eyes.

He pointed the sceptre at me, and the blue jewel began to glow. "Because I _hate_ you," he snarled. A couple of fireballs shot out of the sceptre, and I dodged them both. He ran towards me and swung the sceptre at my head. I ducked, but quickly punched him in the arm, striking a nerve. Tulio dropped the sceptre, but started throwing punches, himself. I blocked every one, startled by the animosity he was showing. _What was going on?!_ He suddenly swerved to the side, got behind me, and grabbed left arm, twisting it backwards. I gasped at the pain and froze for a second. I could hear him snicker before he pulled my arm at a certain angle, and there was a sickening _snap_ as a horrible pain shot up my limb and made me black out.

Cruelly laughing, Tulio released me. I collapsed to the floor and stared up at him through tears involuntarily streaming down my face from the pain. I tried moving my arm, but couldn't. He knelt before me, his scarlet eyes glinting evilly, even more so than Siren's.

"Maybe I won't kill you _just_ yet," he murmured. "I want to see you and Siren suffer. I know she felt me break your arm, and I know she's going to feel _this_ , too!" He grabbed my abused arm, and twisted it at another angle. Once again, I was rocked by the pain, and screamed. "I'll let you wallow in your pain for a bit," he said, and stood up. After collecting the sceptre, he walked away, leaving me in the street.

* * *

Siren was laughing hysterically as she evaded capture from Phoebus's men within the museum. She was constantly teleporting herself to different parts of the building, sending them on a wild goose choose every time they got too near.

Out of the blue, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her arm, which caused a gasp to escape her lips. She ignored the shouts of the men running towards her, and focused internally at the connection to Aralyne. The pain there was worse. She was injured, obviously. Felt like a broken arm. Had she gotten hurt doing whatever Queen duties she had to perform? There was another pain spreading through her limb, and squeaked at how much it hurt. No, not an accident. This was torture. Who would be stupid enough to go after Aralyne when everyone knew she was pretty much under Siren's protection?

With a final scowl at Phoebus's men, she transported herself out of the museum, keeping focused on her connection to Aralyne.

* * *

I hadn't been sitting in the street for very long when there was a black cloud materializing before me, and out of it stepped my evil twin.

"Who did this?" she snarled, kneeling beside me.

I was startled by her fierceness to protect me, until I remembered that protecting me also meant protecting herself. Always looking out for number one, wasn't she? She didn't move her left arm much, so I knew she felt the intensity of my pain even though her arm wasn't broken. Siren gently took hold of my injured limb, and magically healed it.

"Answer me!" she yelled.

"Tulio," I quietly replied.

"What?!" Her head snapped up, and her scarlet gaze locked with my golden brown irises. "He knows that hurting you, hurts me! Everything was full proof! _Why_ would he do this?" Before I had a chance to test out my healed arm, she grabbed me by the front of my shirt. Okay, if she threw me against a building, too, then I was seriously going to kick her ass, consequences be damned! " _What did you do?!_ "

"Nothing," I replied in defence, pushing her off me. I wiped the tears off my face. "I know about the love spell you have on him, and I wanted to break it. After he stole the sceptre from the museum – which, _you_ are going to fix up, by the way – I followed him to here, and shot him with one of those." I pointed towards Cupid's supplies, laying forgotten not far from us. Siren went over and examined the bow, and one of the arrows. The point of the arrow was a pink heart, and Cupid's likeness was engraved on the bow.

"You didn't," she said, a hint of fear in her voice. "You used one of _Cupid's_ arrows?!"

"Uh, yeah. I did. It was a direct hit. He was supposed to fall in love with me again, but instead he tried to _kill_ me!"

"Us."

"Whatever."

"You _STUPID IDIOT!_ " she screeched. I cringed as her voice went up a couple of octaves. " _IF YOU HIT SOMEONE THAT'S ALREADY DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH SOMEONE ELSE, THEN THE LOVE TURNS TO HATE!"_ She clamped her eyes shut and took a couple of deep breaths.

"Say what now?" I said in confusion.

Through clenched teeth, she muttered, "Yes, I put a love spell on Tulio to keep him away from _you_ , but unfortunately, I didn't realize till later that since you and I are still connected, you are _me_ and I am _you._ His love for both of us intensified, and now thanks to your _IMBECILIC_ carelessness, he _hates_ us and will _destroy_ us!"

"But _why_ does he want to kill us. You wouldn't think that just because he hates us, he would want us _dead!_ "

"Because, I turned him evil, like me," she snarled, her eyes snapping open. Without any kind of love in his heart, we are just as doomed as everyone else in Incantationen!"

"You did _what?!_ " It was now my turn to yell. _"Why_ would you even _consider_ making him like _you?! You're_ just as stupid, you fucking _moron!_ "

"You do _not_ want to cross me even more than you already have, sunshine."

"You're already on my shit list, bitch, and have been since day one!" I retorted. I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. Arguing with her wasn't going to get us anywhere. "Okay. How do we fix this?"

"The only thing that can reverse the effects of Cupid's arrow is Cupid's arrow. If we're gonna fix this, we have to hit him with another one. Now, let's go."

The two of us climbed to our feet. I picked up Cupid's equipment, and we ran down the street after Tulio.

 _(A little shout out to Princess Kanako's friend. I hope you're enjoying this….)_


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

 _(Song in this chapter is "Don't Forget" by Demi Lovato")_

Siren and I caught up to Tulio right as he was leaving his house. I slung Cupid's equipment over my shoulder, having them hang from my back. In one hand, Tulio held the sceptre, and the other held Excalibur. My evil side didn't try calling out to him, or anything that would be the less likely way to get us killed. No, that idiot surpassed me, reached out and grasped the sceptre, trying to pull it from Tulio's grasp. He almost seemed to be expecting it, because his hold on the sceptre tightened. The two of them fought over it, almost like toddlers fighting over a toy.

"Give it to me, Tulio! This wasn't part of the plan!" Siren shouted out.

Tulio laughed. "The sceptre won't even work for you, sweetheart. Only the most evil can wield its power, and it's not _you._ " A bolt of electricity shot out of the sceptre and struck Siren. She screamed as she lit up like a lightbulb. The pain I felt shocked me (no pun intended), and had me gasping. When the electricity faded, he swung the sceptre around and she lost her grip on it, flying backwards. Siren landed in a heap in front of me. We both stared up at Tulio, who pointed the sceptre at us.

The jewel in the sceptre began to glow.

Shit. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, and based on Siren's worried look, neither did she. A black light surrounded us, blinding me for a moment. When I blinked, I found that we were no longer in Nesidy. The place we had just transported to was filled with destroyed buildings, and looked pretty barren. It kind of reminded me of the aftermath of apocalypse movies. Both Siren and I were tied up in black chains.

"What the hell?" Siren muttered, wiggling around. I knew it was pointless to try breaking free. They were fucking _chains_ for fuck's sake.

"Just smoke on out of there, you twit," I said.

"I'm _trying!_ " she snapped back. "My powers seem to have short-circuited during that electric blast."

Tulio laughed as he watched her struggle. "Now that I have the two of you together, I can finally do what the other villains haven't – rid the world of you!"

"You could have just killed me earlier instead of breaking my arm," I pointed out.

"True, but I wanted to try a little experiment," he said with relish. "What happens to one of you, whilst I cut off the other's head?"

I cringed, and Siren finally stopped squirming. Either way we were going to die, but who would be the one to lose their head, and who would be the one to suffer the effects? Both situations sounded horrible.

Tulio pointed Excalibur at me, then shifted it to Siren. "Now, which one of you shall it be?" He settled on my evil twin. With a manic gleam in his eye, he lifted the sword above his own head, ready to strike it down.

"No!" a voice shouted, grabbing our attention. We all turned to see Sam Manson running towards us.

"Sam?" I blurted out.

"What are you doing here?" Siren inquired.

"I got caught in that weird black light," she said, halting before us and facing Tulio. "Don't do this, Tulio! This isn't really you!"

"Stand down, Samantha," Tulio ordered, "I'll kill you next."

" _Samantha?!_ " she shouted, apparently unfazed by his threat. "Nobody calls me that!"

Tulio rolled his eyes at her, raising Excalibur once more. It looked like he had no qualms about slicing Sam to get to us. Before he could make a move, the sceptre was suddenly yanked out of his hand by an invisible force. At first, we were all startled until Tulio realized what had happened.

"Phantom! Show yourself, or your girlfriend dies!"

Danny appeared before us, the sceptre in his grasp. "Let the girls go, and you get the sceptre."

"I'm not going to bargain with a child, Phantom, now give me the sceptre!"

For a moment, Danny didn't move. He studied Tulio, then turned and slammed the sceptre into a nearby wall. The sceptre shattered, a black light emitting from it, which then expanded and surrounded all of us. When it had faded away, we were back in Nesidy, right outside Tulio's house once more. Even better, Siren and I were no longer in chains!

Tulio roared and swung Excalibur at us. We all dodged out of the way. Tulio kicked out at me, but I wasn't fast enough. His foot connected with my rips, and I felt as well as heard a horrible popping sound. Siren and I both gasped from the pain. I fell over from the force of his kick. Siren took off running and slipped inside the house.

Coward. Probably went to hide in her magic mirror or something.

"It ends now," Tulio snarled, standing over her.

"I-I don't want to fight you," I stammered out, slowing climbing to my feet. My ribs hurt and it was a bit hard to breathe. I wondered if something had been broken.

"You going to let your Phantom hero save you again?" he mocked.

"No," I replied. "Danny won't touch you. It's just you and me, Tulio. You have to listen to me. I – I hit you with one of Cupid's arrows. You only hate me because you love me."

"The hate I feel for you is real," he shouted, swinging the sword at my head. I ducked out of the way, the pain in my ribs flaring. Yup. Something was definitely broken.

"No one's gonna win, Tulio! If you kill me, you will be hunted down!" I warned.

"I'm going to win, Aralyne," he sneered, "Because I'll be the one to finally kill you once and for all." He swung Excalibur once more, and I jumped back before taking off running down the street.

"Aralyne!" Sam and Danny shouted, but I knew they weren't going to hurt Tulio, not after I had said Danny wouldn't.

I could hear Tulio's footsteps right behind me, steadily getting closer. This time, I felt a foot connect with my lower back, and I fell forward. I twisted onto my backside, being careful not to crush Cupid's equipment. He leered down at me, Excalibur in hand, ready to strike. At the last second, I reached behind me and yanked an arrow out of the quiver. Without thinking much on it, I shoved the arrow into Tulio's heart. He froze and stared at me in confusion, as the arrow melted away. His arm slowly lowered and he dropped Excalibur onto the street.

" _Did you forget  
That I was even alive?  
Did you forget  
Everything we ever had?  
Did you forget?  
Did you forget  
About me?"_

"Aralyne," he said.

"Tulio. Are you okay?" I timidly inquired.

"You – you used one of Cupid's arrows on me?" His voice was tinged with anger.

" _Did you regret (did you regret)  
Ever standing by my side  
Did you forget (did you forget)  
What we were feeling inside?  
Now I'm left to forget  
About us"_

"I was supposed to be guarding them," I stammered, "but then I saw you with Siren and I guess I-I thought you didn't love me. If I'd known this whole thing was almost gonna get me killed, I…." My voice trailed off as my throat tightened. I wanted to cry. I also wanted to jump up and hug him, but something was telling me not to.

" _But somewhere we went wrong  
We were once so strong  
Our love is like a song  
You can't forget it"_

Siren suddenly appeared with Danny and Sam. In the villainess's grip was a heart – _Tulio's_ heart, I realized. She shoved it into Tulio's chest, and he screamed in pain. Once he stopped, he stood there, hunched over, panting.

"This isn't going to work out," Tulio muttered when he had caught his breath. He straightened up and looked between me and Siren. "I can't be with either of you."

" _So now I guess  
This is where we have to stand  
Did you regret  
Ever holding my hand?  
Never again  
Please don't forget  
Don't forget"_

It felt like the air had been knocked out of me.

"What?!" Siren and I both gasped out.

"I'm being pulled in two different directions, and neither one of you ever stopped to consider how _I_ felt about this!" He then addressed Siren, "You're always manipulating me either for your evil schemes or for your own pleasure, and I'm _sick_ of it!" Tulio then turned his focus on me and I shrank back. "And you – you don't _trust_ me! I try to protect you, and you go behind my back to use a spell on me. I could have _killed_ you, Aralyne!"

" _We had it all  
We were just about to fall  
Even more in love  
Than we were before  
I won't forget  
I won't forget  
About us_

 _But somewhere we went wrong  
We were once so strong  
Our love is like a song  
You can't forget it"_

"I'm sorry," I muttered, tears springing to my eyes. "I should've trusted you. I –"

Tulio didn't let me finish. "From now on, I think we need to keep our relationship... strictly professional. I will continue protecting the both of you, but that's it. And, Siren, I want you out of my house."

"But –" she began, just as startled as I was.

"I need time alone to think," he said, then turned and walked away.

Siren and I stared after him. I felt like my heart was breaking.

" _Somewhere we went wrong  
We were once so strong  
Our love is like a song  
You can't forget it  
At all_

 _And at last  
All the pictures have been burned  
And all the past  
Is just a lesson that we've learned  
I won't forget  
Please don't forget us_

 _Somewhere we went wrong  
Our love is like a song  
But you won't sing along  
You've forgotten  
About us  
(Don't forget)"_

* * *

After telling Sam and Danny I didn't want to talk about what happened, they had left me and Siren. We both had gone to the Benbow Inn, and I had to explain to Mrs. Hawkins that my evil twin needed a room to stay in. Not one of us, was happy with the arrangement, but she agreed.

Now Siren and I were sitting in the dining area at a small corner table, neither one of us saying anything. I had Excalibur propped against the wall beside me. After a few minutes in silence, she reached out towards me and I jerked away from her, gasping at the pain in my ribs. She gave me an annoyed glare.

"My magic returned. I'm just going to heal your broken ribs," she said. "If you keep overexerting yourself, you'll puncture a lung."

I reluctantly let her touch my shoulder, and felt her magic do its thing.

"Thanks," I muttered.

We were silent a bit longer, then I finally asked, "Why did you give Tulio back his heart? If he was more like you, he probably wouldn't have dumped the both of us."

She avoided looking at me and replied, "I realized having to evil beings in Nesidy was a bad idea. He and I would have continuously fought over power." I didn't think she was telling the truth, but I let it slide.

The door to the Benbow Inn opened, and in flew Cupid.

"Happy Lunes! Papi's home!" the flying baby exclaimed.

I glanced his way, and gave him a small wave.

Cupid studied me, then Siren. "What happened, babies? It looks like someone took your corazons, tied them to a bowling ball and rolled ten frames of gutter balls!"

"Something like that," Siren muttered, slouching in her chair.

I removed Cupid's gear from my back and returned it to him.

"Um, I'm not seeing as many arrows as I came in with, mija," he said, pointing at the quiver.

I winced. Damn! I was hoping he wouldn't notice a couple were missing.

"You were right about love," I said as a kind of apology, "You can't control it, you can't create it... And even then... sometimes it isn't enough."

Cupid gave us a small smile, then snapped his fingers. Two heart-shaped boxes, two spoons, and a giant container of ice cream appeared on the table. "No sad faces! Papi has just the cure for your broken hearts! Chocolates and a quart of Heart Break Butter batter Ice Cream! Try and have some fun, babies!" He then flew out of the inn, leaving us alone.

"Great," Siren muttered. She opened one of the boxes of chocolate and began eating.

It was then that Catherine and Alyss came out of the kitchen, both looking satisfied.

"That was good ham," Alyss declared, patting her stomach.

When they spotted Siren and me sitting at the table, their eyes lit up. "Ice cream!" they shouted, and dragged chairs to our table. They took the spoons and dug into the dessert.

With a mouth full of ice cream, Catherine looked between Siren and me and asked, "So, what'd we miss?"


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

Siren had managed to locate a portal into the ghostzone and now wandered through its many areas. She glanced around the eerie black and green void, using her magic to navigate the zone. Soon, she spotted a large medieval scarlet castle hovering in place. A sinister grin spread across her face. Finally! After a month of searching, she had found it! She flew straight into the castle's entrance, glad that there weren't any guards protecting it – not that it needed any. Its owner inflicted fear into every ghost's heart (did ghosts _have_ hearts?) with his name merely being spoken. In the hall was a flank of unmoving skeletons. She opened a door at the end of the hall that led into a massive room with a sarcophagus surrounded by green light, a skeleton holding a pumpkin with a sword sticking out of it, and another skeleton holding a blue sphere. In the centre of the sphere was a ring – the Ring of Rage. She went straight for the sarcophagus.

"Here we are," said the villainess, her voice echoing around the room. "Pariah's Keep: home of the Fright Knight, and before that, the Ghost King." Siren flicked her fingers and the sphere around the ring dissolved, leaving a liquid residue on the skeleton's hands. The ring fell to the ground with a soft _tinkle_. She picked it up and slipped it on her finger. "And here I am with all his power in the palm of my hand. But, of course, the Ring of Rage only works when one wears the Crown of Fire." Siren waved her hand over the sarcophagus. Its eyes glowed red before the coffin opened, revealing the Ghost King, Pariah Dark. He was huge with only one eye, the other covered by an eyepatch, a beard, and a flaming crown was perched on his brow. "Together, the two items give you power unimaginable. Power to separate me from that _bitch_ , Aralyne!"

Before Siren could reach out to grab the crown, Pariah's eye snapped open and he glared down at the villainess, startling her. "Who dares?" he growled out.

"Damn," she muttered. Siren hadn't expected this to happen. Not wanting to waste what little power she had, Siren turned and took off for the exit. She was still mere feet from the door when she saw from the corner of her eye that Pariah had pulled the sword out of the purple pumpkin, which then exploded to reveal a ghost knight in black armour.

"The Fright Knight lives!" the knight exclaimed.

Pariah threw the sword at Fright Knight. "To serve me."

The Knight looked surprised, then bowed at the sight of the King. "King Pariah! You're up!"

"And perhaps it's time to remind you – and that intruder – who RULES this place!" bellowed the Ghost King.

Siren entered the hall, and zoomed for the exit. A bout of nausea overcame her, and she was just seconds away from puking. _No! Not now!_ Siren choked back the bile. This was the third time this month she had felt sick.

She had just made it outside muttering to herself, "I've got to get out of here before he finds me!"

But it was too late. The Fright Knight had cut across her path. _Damn!_ She came to a halt, and gave him a nervous smile. "Surely, you and I could work out some sort of deal?" she quickly suggested.

The knight's green eyes narrowed. "A deal?"

* * *

In the Fenton household, Jack and Maddie Fenton were working on the Fenton Pants in their basement. The portal to the ghostzone was wide open, but this didn't register to them. Jack plugged a wire into the pants, smiled and pressed a button. The suit glowed faintly, and stomped a couple of times on its own.

"Sweet! The Fenton Pants are charged and operational! I'm telling you, Maddie, once this ectoskeleton is finished it will be able to beat back any ghost, no matter how powerful!" exclaimed Jack.

Maddie bent over the Fenton Pants, scrutinizing them. "Yeah, but the interface is still glitchy and dangerous, Jack. We need to work the bugs out before –"

Suddenly, a beat-up Siren flew out of the Portal and crashed to the floor, Ring in hand. Her hand closed on the ring. Jack and Maddie gawked at her, horrified.

"Siren?" Maddie gasped.

Siren's face was green, and she leaned to the side, vomiting. Wiping puke and spittle from her mouth, she gazed up at the Fentons. "Help me," she muttered, then fainted, just barely missing the puddle of sick.

* * *

I leaned against a tree in the park, feeling quite content, despite the unexpected nausea that has occasionally popped up over the past month. And the fact I haven't seen or heard from Tulio in all that time, either.

Danny, Sam, Alyss, and Catherine came up to me.

"You seem pretty happy today," Catherine observed, waggling her eyebrows.

"Why shouldn't she be?" Alyss said. "Last night she shoved Ember _and_ Skulker back into the Ghost Zone with Danny's help."

"And I haven't seen Siren all morning! Nothing could spoil this day," I proclaimed with a smile.

"Well, come on! We're having a movie marathon at my house today," said Danny, grabbing my hand.

I allowed him to pull me in the direction of the Fenton residence. Ever since Tulio broke up with me, my friends made sure to keep me busy: keeping me on track of my 1ueenly duties, and spending all of my free time with me. I knew they were trying to keep me from thinking of Tulio, but no matter what we did, he was always on my mind. I just never let them know.

"I feel like we should have invited Siren, to keep an eye on her," Alyss remarked as we got to the steps of Danny's house.

Sam snorted and shook her head. "The last thing Danny would want to do is invite an arch-enemy into his own house."

Danny opened the door and we all froze on the threshold. My jaw dropped.

Siren was sitting in the living room, a blanket over her shoulders, having tea and playing chess with Jack Fenton. Maddie was holding the teapot, and Jazz was lounging on the couch, reading a book.

The villainess casually moved a chess piece, her scarlet eyes flicking up in our direction. "Hello, Aralyne," she drawled. There were faint bruises around her neck and on her arms, and she looked sick. How did _I_ not feel the beating she took? What even _happened_ to her?

"What are you doing here?" I stammered out at my evil twin.

"I was just, you know, passing through," she casually said with a shrug. "And then I saw that _marvelous_ Battlesuit and thought, since I can't just destroy Jack and take it, I suppose I'll steal its secrets right out from under his nose!" A faint smile crossed her face.

Jack looked worried at first, but then laughed. Maddie didn't find it funny, and her eyes narrowed at Siren. I didn't know what Siren could want with the Fentons' battlesuit, but it couldn't be good.

An alarum suddenly went off in the house, startling all of us. Maddie grabbed a remote and pointed it at the nearby TV. The television came to life to show a panel labeled "Ghost Zone Radar" with ghost-like pixel images moving towards the centre point.

Galloping goblets, it's the Ecto-Exodus Alarm!" exclaimed Jack.

"The Ecto-whaty-what?" Alyss, Catherine, and I simultaneously said.

Maddie explained, "The Ecto-Exodus Alarm! An alarm that only goes off when we're about to face a massive ghost invasion!"

The ghosts on screen were getting closer to the centre.

"I'll check it out," said Danny turning into his Phantom form and flying down into the basement.

The others and I exchanged curious glances, then raced down into the basement after Danny. He was tense, facing the open portal to the ghostzone.

"Okay, here we go," Danny muttered.

The tension in the room rose, as we prepared ourselves for a great threat.

The Box Ghost's head suddenly popped out of the portal. "Beware!" he proclaimed, waving his arms.

We blinked at him in disbelief.

"Oh man! Only you?" Catherine said with a giggle.

She spoke too soon. A blue beam of ectoplasm shot out of the Portal and hit Danny square in the chest, knocking him to the ground. A boot landed on his chest. Out of the portal stepped Skulker, standing on him. The Box Ghost was close behind.

"Skulker?" I said in confusion.

"I told you there was a way out through here," Skulker addressed the portal.

Ember's head poked out of the Ghost Zone, then Walker's, then an Ectopus, then Johnny 13's shadow. They all looked very scared. Along with them came about a million other ghosts, bursting out of the portal, shouting. The Ghosts burst out of the basement. Danny pulled Skulker off of himself and flew him out of the house by the leg.

"What the hell?" said Alyss.

We raced out of the basement. Siren was still in her seat, looking unconcerned and sipping her mug of tea. I rolled my eyes at her and ran outside with my friends. We were just in time to see Danny punch Skulker. He was suddenly stopped by a dragon ghost, being ridden by the ghost Poindexter.

"I know this might sound a little fishy, but Skulker isn't the bully here!" said Poindexter in a slightly nasally voice.

"Bully?" I repeated, gesturing for the dragon to release Danny. "What are you talking about? What are all of you running from?"

Ember – not exactly my favourite ghost since she made Danny love me – said, "His name is Pariah Dark, the King of All Ghosts."

All of the ghosts, except Danny, then flew off without another word.

"I think Siren just became the least of our worries," Danny remarked.

Maybe, or maybe not. She seemed a little _too_ calm when we passed by her earlier. She had something to do with this. I just _know_ she did!

* * *

Back in the Ghost Zone, three glowing green skeletons stood before the Fright Knight.

"Your armies are amassed?" inquired the knight. The skeletons saluted as an answer. "Then on my orders –"

He was cut off by the Ghost King. "On _my_ orders!" Pariah snuck up behind the knight, startling him. "Go to that world. Bring the Ring to me. And to those who stand in your way-show no mercy."

The three head skeletons and the Fright Knight bowed down before Pariah. He then walked over to a railing overlooking the skeleton armies. They grunted and raised their arms in salute to him.

* * *

"Are you two okay?" Sam inquired of me and Danny the next morning as we met in the Benbow Inn's dining area for breakfast. Catherine and Alyss were still asleep. The Phantom looked just as drained and exhausted as I felt. "Sorry, standard question. Late night?"

"Of course it was a late night!" I snapped, raking my fingers through my hair. They got caught in the curls and I struggled to get them loose.

"Every ghost I know – and about a million I don't – ARE LOOSE!" Danny added.

An ectopus suddenly appeared and snagged my cup of coffee.

"Hey! Give that back!" I shouted, leaping out of my seat. The pest vanished with a laugh and I crashed to the floor. "Ooww," I moaned. I was too tired to get up and just lay there.

"Not to mention I couldn't sleep because Siren was helping my dad with the battlesuit," Danny said.

"Is that where she was?" I muttered, staring at Danny's sneakers. "I was wondering why she didn't return to the inn." I groaned once again, nausea rising in my stomach. "Can I just stay here forever? I don't wanna deal with this." I tried ignoring the nausea, but it got worse until I couldn't hold it back anymore. I suddenly puked. Once I had finished, I scuttled away from the puddle of vomit.

"Are you okay?" Sam inquired, her voice thick with concern.

"I think so?" I replied in confusion. Why _have_ I been so sick lately?

"Here, let's clean this up, then we'll head to Danny's to get Siren out," Sam said, helping me to my feet.

I nodded in agreement, wondering if she was going through this strange illness, too.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty-Five

In the basement of the Fenton house, Jack Fenton was still working on the pants to the battlesuit with Siren helping, a bored expression evident on her face.

"Siren, my girl! Could you hand me that watchermajigit?" Jack asked, pointing to some tool on a table.

The villainess rolled her eyes at his incompetence, and grabbed the watchermajigit. She handed it to Jack. "Here. Any idea when this suit might be finished?"

Jack slid out from underneath the suit as if it were a classic car. He gave her a slightly annoyed look. "Quit pushing me, Siren, I'm working on it as fast as I can!"

A loud neighing came from the closed Fenton Portal. Siren shot it a worried look, checking her skirt pocket for the Ring she had stolen. It was still there, thankfully.

"Can we... pick it up a little bit?" she stammered.

Maddie came running down the stairs. "What was that?" she demanded.

"Could be me," Jack said nonchalantly, "I made huevos rancheros for breakfast!"

There was another neigh. The portal burst open, a part of the door flying right into Jack.

A slight smirk crossed Siren's lips as she said a bit late, "Jack. Look out. The door."

Stepping through the portal was the Fright Knight. His gaze skimmed over the people in the basement. It was as if he didn't recognize Siren from their earlier encounter.

"Go, and find the King's ring," ordered the Fright Knight, holding out his sword. Behind him emerged the Skeleton Armies marching out of the Ghost Zone and ran around the room, going intangible and flying out when they reached the wall. They didn't even spare the humans a single glance. Siren breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jack, we have to shut the portal!" Maddie shouted.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," said Jack, struggling under the portal door.

Maddie ran over to a switch to close the portal, but was grabbed by the Fright Knight. She was hoisted onto his horse.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, shoving the door off himself. "LET GO OF THE WOMAN I LOVE!"

Siren made her way to the battlesuit. "Is any part of that suit operational?" she demanded.

"Well, the pants part, but it's not calibrated yet. Using the suit could kill you," Jack informed the villainess.

Siren then pushed it in his direction. "Well then, maybe _you_ should try it first. It _is_ your battlesuit!"

The Fright Knight fired a beam from his sword at them. Jack slammed Siren into the wall to save her from the blast. She cringed at the impact, swearing to get back at Jack for this later.

"That it is, Siren. It's time to kick a little butt!" Jack declared. He slipped the mechanical pants on over his orange jumpsuit. "And these are just the pants to kick it in! Neural receptors engage..."

Jack pressed a button, engaging the neural receptors. Snakelike metal limbs attached to his spinal cord and arms, allowing him to control the suit with body movements. Once they were engaged, Jack jumped in full view of the Fright Knight. The Fright Knight's horse neighed again. The Fright Knight attempted to fire beams at Jack, but he simply dodged them. Jack jumped up and kicked the Fright Knight's arm repeatedly, freeing Maddie. He then ran up and kicked the knight. The Fright Knight and his horse were knocked right out of the house. AND IT'S GONE! Siren and Maddie ran up to Jack.

At first, Jack was laughing at the amazing feat he had just done, but then he suddenly became exhausted. "Nobody can touch me while I'm wearing the Fenton – And the... Ectoskeleton... weakening... me..." He slumped to the ground.

Maddie stared down at him, horrified, whilst Siren gave him an amused look.

"Jack!" she shouted, kneeling beside him. "The suit's draining you like a battery! Siren, help me get these pants off Jack!"

Siren's scarlet eyes widened. "Nope, sorry, that's all you," the villainess stated, then raced out of the basement. No way was she staying with them now that the ghost army had left the Ghost Zone.

* * *

Nesidy was being overrun by the ghosts that had escaped from the Ghost Zone. Many of the Skeleton Armies were throwing cars into shop windows, slicing open fire hydrants, and generally causing a lot of mayhem. People ran screaming in panic as the Skeletons chased them. From a building above, Poindexter peered down.

Ember, the Box Ghost, Skulker, and Lunch Lady, stood behind him, not feeling an ounce of sympathy for the humans.

"Oh, who cares about them?" Ember snapped, her arms crossed. "That is the Ghost King's crew. He's on his way here!"

"Which means we have to camouflage ourselves. And you hear that?" said Skulker watching as crowds fled the city. "That's confusion and panic. Which means it's the perfect time to find our hiding place."

All the other ghosts exchanged menacing glances.

* * *

By the time Sam and Danny had helped me get clean from my unexpected vomiting, Catherine and Alyss appeared. We explained to the sisters we were on our way to retrieve Siren from the Fentons' and they tagged along. We were only half way to Danny's house when we heard screaming, and crowds of people raced passed us.

"What the hell?!" I said, watching a couple dozen of the Dalmatian puppies bolt past us, looking terrified.

Up ahead, we saw an army of green skeletons marching up and down every street.

"Seriously?" Danny groaned, turning into his Phantom form.

We females exchanged surprised glances, then all five of us rushed forward, ready to kick ass. And, yes, this time I had Excalibur with me. See, I've gotten better at keeping track of my weapon.

Bolting around a corner was Siren, looking nervous. We all skid to a halt, and gaped at her.

"Siren?" we chorused in slight confusion.

I recalled how calm she was when the first wave of ghosts appeared from the Ghost Zone and I scowled at her. "What did you _do?!_ " I demanded.

My evil twin glared at me. "Always jumping to conclusions, aren't you. Anytime something goes wrong, you blame me!"

"Well, _did_ you do something?" I prompted.

She shot the approaching army a worried glance. "That's irrelevant! Nesidy is in the midst of a massive ghost attack!"

"This _is_ your fault, isn't it?!" I snapped. I raced forward to slap the bitch across the face, but she caught my wrist.

"Calm down, Aralyne! I didn't come here to fight you, I have other things to worry about!" she retorted. A horse neighed, and we turned to see a ghostly knight and the skeleton army had arrived. "Dammit, they found me!"

The knight rushed forward to swipe at Siren and me with his sword, but she released me and we jumped out of the way. Siren scowled, her hand smoking. She fired a blast of flames that hit several skeletons. Just as one Skeleton was about to slice through her, I pulled out Excalibur and used its power to destroy the skeleton.

"Danny! You and the girls make sure everyone gets to safety! Siren and I will handle this!" I shouted to my best friend.

They did as I asked, leaving me alone with my evil twin.

"You're helping me?" Siren said in mild surprise.

"More like helping myself," I corrected. "Remember if you die, so do I?"

She rolled her eyes at me. In that brief moment of defenselessness, the ghost knight grabbed Siren by the front of her top and lifted her up to his eye level.

"The king's prize. Return it!" he commanded.

"I don't have it," Siren retorted. "But, if you join me, perhaps toge–"

There was a blur of movement, and both Siren and the Knight were knocked away. We all turned to see Tulio standing before us looking quiet deadly with a sword in hand. Without a word, he went to work destroying the skeleton army, hardly breaking a sweat.

"He really is quite good at this fighting thing," Siren remarked as I helped her to her feet. Neither one of us was able to tear our eyes away from him.

"He's also still very angry with us," I reminded her. "I would hate to be on the receiving end of that sword."

"Good point," she replied.

Once the last of the skeleton army had been destroyed, he rounded on us, a frown on his face.

" _What's_ going on here?!" he demanded.

"That," Siren and I replied, pointing towards the knight. The ghost was flying right towards us. Siren waved her arms and a pink shield surrounded the three of us. The ghost slammed into the shield, and finding he was unable to break through, hacked at it with his sword.

The villainess looked between me and Tulio. "Look, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but _that_ guy is the problem right now, _not_ me, and I could really use your help."

Tulio's frown deepened. "I still don't trust either of you."

I felt like I had been punched in the gut, but didn't say anything and simply nodded.

"You don't have to trust me," Siren said, her voice tinged with irritation. I wondered if she was just as hurt by his remark as I was. "Just... fight with me!"

Tulio thought about it for a second, then nodded. A wan smile crossed Siren's lips. She dropped the shield, and ducked out of the way of the knight's sword. I pointed Excalibur at him, shooting an electric blast at him. Tulio punched him in the face. Siren straightened up to shoot fire at the ghost.

The knight was knocked to the ground, but didn't look as if we had defeated him. He slowly stood up.

"Fools!" the knight boomed at us. "All I wanted to do was seize the Ring and return to Pariah's Keep. But now, you give me no choice. By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege, I claim this town now and forever under the weather of Lord Pariah – The King of All Ghosts!" He held up his sword, which had burst into flames. He stuck it into the ground. When the ground and sword made contact, a green wave of ectoplasm swept through the town. When the wave hit the Skeleton Armies, they froze in their tracks.

The knight stepped away from the sword, which sent a column of ectoplasm into the sky. The column reached a certain point, and then a large ectoplasmic dome closed itself over the town. I stared up to see the sky on the other side of the dome flicker before vanishing and being replaced by an endless darkness.

"What just happened?" Tulio asked.

Siren swore. "Nesidy is now trapped in the Ghost Zone," she grimly replied.

"Siren, I'm going to kill you," I calmly replied, focusing my attention on her.

A look of nausea crossed her face. I didn't think she would take me so seriously, until I realized I was feeling sick myself. I shoved the sickness aside, trying to ignore it. So apparently she's been feeling sick as well. That's a bit of a relief. I thought it was just me, but _why_ have we been getting sick. Siren then hunched over and threw up.

"Not now," she moaned, wiping excess puke from her lips.

"Are you okay?" Tulio inquired, his voice suddenly filled with concern. I felt a twinge of jealousy.

"Fine," Siren weakly replied. Without warning, she keeled over in a faint.

"Siren!" Tulio and I simultaneously said, rushing to her side.

Tulio lifted her into his arms, and we shot a wary look at the ghost, sure that he intended to kill us now. Instead, he recited a prophecy.

" _The sword has sunk, your die now cast,_

 _The sword removed shall signal fast._

 _Make reappear the Ring thou hast_

 _Or your next day shall be your last."_

The knight disappeared in a puff of smoke and bats. Tulio and I ducked away from the flying creatures. The Skeleton Armies remained motionless.

"The Ring thou hast?" I repeated in confusion.

Tulio shrugged uncertainly. "Come on, we'd better get Siren to safety."

We both stood, Siren in Tulio's arms, and walked through a frozen army of green skeletons. It was rather unnerving, but I had to admit it was good to have Tulio back again.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

The Fentons had brought up their ghost shield over their house and that's where Tulio decided to take Siren. Whatever she had done, we figured she would be safer under the shield. Danny wasn't going to be happy about this.

We were in our fourth hour of captivity within the dome inside the Ghost Zone. Despite the odd circumstances, an eerie calm had fallen over Nesidy. Danny and the girls hadn't returned yet, so Tulio had deposited Siren on his bed. Maddie and Jazz were working on the battlesuit whilst Jack supervised. Jazz had explained to me he had used the pants to the suit earlier and it seemed to have drained him. She said the suit was the only hope we had to punch through that dome to send us back to Incantationen, but she didn't think they'd be able to perfect the neural receptors. In the meantime, they had called on Doctor Possible to come check up on Jack.

Tulio and I were in Danny's room, him sitting in a chair beside the bed to watch over Siren sleeping. I was leaning against a wall, my arms folded across my chest. His expression was filled with such tenderness, it killed me to see him look at anyone but _me_ that way. I had to get my mind off this. I had other things to worry about at the moment.

"I'm sorry," Tulio finally said, breaking the silence.

I didn't know if he was talking to me or to Siren. My silent inquiry was answered when he turned in my direction. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"I can't stay angry at you – either of you – for very long." Tulio stood from the chair and stalked up to me. He stopped just a mere foot away from me, shutting the door to the bedroom. His look of tenderness had changed to one of pure desire, fire burning in his blue eyes.

"T-Tulio?" I quietly stammered, staring up at him.

He leaned in to capture my lips with his, the kiss far from innocent. It was pure passion and a hunger for much more. My arms automatically wrapped around his neck, as his hands slid down to my butt. He suddenly lifted me up, my legs curling around his waist. Tulio pushed me up against the wall. I broke the kiss with a gasp as I felt his member press against me through our clothes.

"That spell Aphrodite placed on me was to make sure I never loved anyone but you, but there wasn't any need for that," he groaned into my ear. "All it did was make me desire you constantly. That's actually why I left for a while. But being away from you drove me insane." He lowered his head to nibble at my neck and…

"Ahem."

I was going to kill her.

Tulio pulled away and set me back on my feet. We faced Siren who was now wide awake and sitting up in bed. I glared at her as she gave me a smug look. Fucking bitch.

"You feeling any better?" Tulio inquired, returning to her side.

"A little," she replied. "Though I'm surprised you care… Aren't you still mad at us?"

I didn't want to hear their conversation so, I opened the bedroom door and left. When I got to the bottom landing, the front door opened, and in walked Danny, the girls, and Doctor Possible.

"Finally!" I said. "I thought I was going to be stuck talking to Siren all day. Hey, Doctor Possible."

"Doctor Possible's here?" Tulio said from the top of the stairs. Behind him was Siren.

Catherine's, Alyss's, Sam's, and Danny's eyes widened as they gaped up at Tulio. They then looked between him, me, and Siren.

I gave them all a look which clearly said I didn't want to talk about our current situation.

"I think my dad's still downstairs," said Danny, leading the doctor down into the basement. The rest of us followed them.

Down in the basement, Doctor Possible checked Jack Fenton, and declared that he simply needed to rest.

"Before you go, can you check Siren, too?" Tulio asked the doctor.

"And Aralyne?" Sam added.

My twin and I shot them annoyed glances. "I don't need her to check on me. I'm fine," we said at the exact same time and tone of voice.

Everyone gave us curious looks.

"Why does she need to be checked?" Alyss and Tulio said simultaneously.

"Because she's been throwing up," said Tulio and Danny.

Everyone was surprised.

"You've been throwing up, too?" Catherine and Tulio asked of me and Siren.

Doctor Possible was slightly amused. "Okay. Aralyne, you first." Irritated, I moved forward. She checked my heartbeat, my breathing, my eyes, my ears, and my throat. She shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you."

I breathed a sigh of relief, but why did I still feel nauseous every once in a while?

The doctor moved on over to Siren, and did the same procedure. A small frown crossed her face when she was checking Siren's breathing. "When did you start throwing up?" she asked, pulling the stethoscope out of her ears and wrapping them around her neck.

"Shortly after Tulio left Nesidy," Siren replied. "That was a month ago."

Doctor Possible nodded, understanding flashing across her face. "I see. Well, to put it bluntly, Siren, you're pregnant."

The entire basement fell silent except for the whir of machines.

" _WHAT?!_ " Siren, Tulio, and I shouted.

Everyone looked horrified. Tulio paled as an "oh shit" expression crossed his face.

I stared between him and Siren. My chest felt too tight and I couldn't breathe. There was a rushing sound in my ears. My sight went blurry and I was vaguely aware of tears rushing down my cheeks. I turned and bolted out of the basement.

"Aralyne!"

"Aralyne, wait!"

I was in the living room and was headed straight for the front door when Danny suddenly appeared before me and I slammed into his body, his arms wrapping around me.

"Come on, let's go somewhere private," he muttered into my ear. He turned us intangible and we flew up into the Fenton's emergency ops centre. Once we were solid again, I sobbed into his chest, sinking to the floor. He sat beside me and just held me, allowing me to cry. "It'll be okay, Aralyne."

* * *

"You've certainly done it this time," Alyss coolly said to Tulio, giving him an evil glare.

"You're a dead man, Tulio!" Catherine proclaimed. She tackled him to the floor, and tried reaching for his neck, but he struggled to get her off him.

 _Pregnant?_ The word just seemed to echo around Siren's head. _Pregnant._ She stared down at Tulio trying to evade Catherine's strangling hands. The room was starting to tilt back and forth. She had to sit down. Siren slumped to the floor and rested against the wall, leaning her head back.

Dr. Possible looked uncomfortable to be there any longer. She said a hasty goodbye and left.

"Someone get this psycho off of me!" Tulio grunted out.

No one came to his rescue, and watched with amusement as Catherine tried to kill him. After a while, he managed to squirm out from under her, jumped to his feet and bolted out of the basement.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU TWO-TIMING ARSE!" Catherine shouted, going after him.

It was now quiet without Tulio and Catherine. All that could be heard were the various sounds the Fenton's machine's made.

Mrs. Fenton said something about lunch, and she and her husband went upstairs leaving Siren alone with Sam, Jazz, and Alyss. The other girls stared at her with disapproving expressions, but no one said anything.

* * *

"Danny, I don't know what I'm going to do," I sniffled once I was unable to produce anymore tears. My head hurt. He handed me a box of tissues and I took a few to wipe and blow my runny nose.

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"Tulio and Siren," I replied. "I knew they were… what they were doing. I felt it through our connection, but I didn't think _this_ would happen."

"I don't know what to tell you," he said, his voice thick with apology. "I've never encountered this kind of situation before. I mean, in a sense, Siren _is_ you, but at the same time she's _not_. She has her own personality, her own life. But there are times when I see you in her."

"I don't want to go back down there," I muttered. "I don't want to see her or Tulio. I don't want to have anything to do with either of them ever again."

"I understand, but you can't stay up here forever, and it's not safe for you to leave my house right now. You don't have to be near them or talk to them if you don't want to. I'll even make sure they don't come near you if you want me to."

Danny was right and I considered his offer. He could always bring me back up here when Tulio and Siren's presence becomes too unbearable. "Thanks, Danny."

Taking my hand, Danny took us back downstairs and we became solid in the living room. My gaze shot towards the stairs leading to the basement. There weren't any voices. Did they all leave? Where were Catherine and Alyss? I took a hesitant step towards the stairs, and slowly descended them in search of my friends. Danny followed closely behind.

Towards the bottom, I stopped and remained in the shadows out of sight of those in the basement. It was just Sam, Alyss, Jazz, and Siren. Catherine and Tulio were missing.

"I know you don't like me, but don't look at me as if I'm a piece of shit," Siren said, breaking the silence. She was slumped on the floor, leaning against a wall. Her hand slid into her skirt pocket.

"How else are we supposed to look at you?" Sam snapped. "You've hit a new low, even for you. And honestly, we _despise_ you. You tried to kill us multiple times."

"You think we're just gonna start hanging out with you without wondering what you want?" Jazz added.

Siren's hand slipped out of her pocket, a ring now upon her middle finger. I inhaled sharply, remembering the Fright Knight had mentioned a ring. "And... How you got that ring?"

The villainess's eyes narrowed at Jazz. "That officially falls under the category of none of your business."

I took the last few steps down to enter the basement. I avoided looking at my evil twin, and grabbed Alyss's and Sam's arms, dragging them back up towards the living room. "We need to talk," I said. "You, too, Jazz." Jazz followed me up and we all left Siren alone in the basement.

When we were all in the living room, I turned to my friends. "Okay, when Siren and I were outside amongst the ghosts, we encountered the Fright Knight. He said he was looking for a ring, and Siren said she didn't have it."

"You think the ring she has on is the one he's looking for?" Alyss inquired.

"It's gotta be," I said with a nod. "It's too much of a coincidence not to be. My question is, _what_ is so special about the ring, and _why_ does she have it? Something's going on with that ring, and we need to make the ghosts tell us what it is."

"I'm on it," said Danny. He turned into Phantom and flew out of the house.

"Where's Catherine?" I wondered aloud when he had gone.

"Probably still trying to kill Tulio," Jazz said with a snort.

"Oh. Good," I growled with an approving nod. I hope she catches him.

* * *

Tulio sprinted down the street, Catherine hot on his heels. She was yelling profanities at him that echoed around the town, gaining everyone's attention, including the ghosts. He was more afraid of her wrath than what the ghosts could do to him. He passed by a startled Adam. Before he could get too far, Adam suddenly tackled him to the ground.

"Let me go!" Tulio shouted at the former Beast. "She's gonna kill me!"

"I know," said Adam, glaring at him. "She's pissed at you, therefore so am I."

"Aw, thanks, baby!" Catherine said slowing to a halt. She kissed Adam on the cheek before rounding on Tulio. She grabbed him by his shirt, and punched him in the face. "That's for Aralyne, you bastard! And this is for calling me a psycho!" She aimed a kick for his groin, but he immediately blocked it.

"Not there!" Tulio cried.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!" Catherine snarled.

Damn, she was terrifying when angry.

"I didn't mean for this to happen!" Tulio automatically proclaimed. "I didn't even think it would! I thought Siren was being careful at least! She's the one that made Aphrodite put a spell on me!"

"Oh, sure, blame the goddess!" retorted Catherine. "It takes two to tango, Tulio! You'd better make this up to Aralyne, or I _will_ kill you!"

"I will, now please let me go," said Tulio.

Catherine gave him one last death glare, then released him. "Come on, Adam," she said, turning her back on Tulio.

"Just a second," said Adam. He then punched Tulio in the face. "That's for calling my girlfriend a psycho! Okay, now I'm ready."

The couple walked off, leaving Tulio lying on the street. He sat up, rubbing his sore face. This was a disaster.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter Forty-Seven

It was dark within the hunting/sporting goods store when Danny Phantom phased into the building, thermos in hand. He had managed to sneak up on Skulker for once.

"I'd much rather kick your butt, but this works too!" Danny proclaimed. He powered up the thermos, pointing it straight at Skulker, but the beam merely passed through him. Skulker fell into a shaft of light to reveal it was just cardboard cutout of him. Surprised, Danny stared down at the cardboard.

 _Then where's the_ real _Skulker?_ Danny wondered a split second before he felt a fist connect with his side. He flew into camping gear.

"Did you actually think you could sneak upon me?" Skulker sneered, stepping out of the darkness. He flew towards Danny, intending to pummel him, but Danny became intangible and phased through the floor. He came up right under Skulker and sent him careening towards the ceiling. Skulker sent out some netting towards the halfa and captured the boy.

As Skulker skulked up towards Danny, another voice came out of the darkness.

"Ix-nay on the ight-fay, Skulker." Poindexter came forward and helped Danny out of the netting. "Maybe he can help us."

Other ghosts then followed Poindexter into the light: the Dragon Ghost, Technus, Ember, Walker, Klemper, and many more.

"Thanks," said Danny. He then turned and punched Skulker, throwing him backwards.

"How is that helping?" Ember snapped.

"It's payback. It helps me on the inside," Danny replied, flexing his wrist.

"Fine, we'll tell him," Skulker grumbled, removing himself from the camping set.

Someone had set up a fake electric plug-in fire and they all sat around it like an actual campfire.

Skulker then told Danny what was going on. "It was many years ago. Before you. Before me. Before most of us. His name was Pariah Dark. And he ruled the Ghost Zone. He was a ghost of such power and magnitude, only he could control the entities contained within the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. When wearing both- he could do anything. Until a group of powerful ancient ghosts banded together in a last ditch effort to defeat the King. By locking him within the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. Or so he thought."

"He's only been freed for a day and he's already destroyed our homes," Ember grumbled.

"And that's without the Ring," Danny mused aloud, thinking back to what Aralyne said about the Fright Knight wanting the ring. "We can't let him get it! But I'm gonna need all of you to help me put the Ghost King to sleep. I'll need you to battle against all odds. Face untold danger, doom, and destruction, with no guarantee of ever coming back. WHO'S WITH ME?" The ghosts were silent for a moment before they all burst out laughing and floated away, leaving Danny alone. "Okay, I'll take that as a no," he muttered. He flew out of the shop and returned home to tell Aralyne what he had learned.

* * *

Catherine had returned with Adam in tow and Tulio was missing. Not that I cared. She didn't tell me what had happened, but I secretly wished his body would be found in a ditch later. If only the same fate could happen to Siren. Manipulative whore. Danny came back shortly after and recounted to me what Skulker had told him.

"And now we're all in danger thanks to Siren," I snarled.

"When are we not?" Adam pointed out.

Even though I would like nothing more than to _murder_ my evil side, I had to try and persuade her to give up whatever crazy scheme she had concocted. With a sigh, I left my friends and found Siren in the Fenton's kitchen picking at some chicken and mashed potatoes on a plate before her.

"Outside. Now," I ordered, grabbing her arm.

Her eyes flashed dangerously in my direction.

"Careful there, Aralyne. Siren's holding precious cargo now," Jack Fenton said from across the table.

Heat seared up my neck and face and I swear my entire vision went red. Siren raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything. Releasing Siren's arm, I whirled about and stormed out of the kitchen all the way out of the house.

I stood on the sidewalk with arms crossed, still feeling overly hot. I tried taking calming breaths, but it didn't help. I just got angrier the more I thought of Siren carrying Tulio's baby.

A moment later the front door opened and out strolled Siren.

"You wanted to see me?" she coolly asked.

I swallowed the words I really wanted to say to her and instead ground out through clenched teeth, "You're putting innocent people in danger. It stops. Now."

Siren smiled smugly at me. "Really? You know what I'm up to? Your tiny mind has pieced together the rest of my plot?"

"That you stole the Ring and woke the Ghost King? Yes."

"That's pretty good. It's almost as though I barely consider you a threat," Siren smirked.

I growled, my hands curling into fists. My vision was turning red again. I felt like I was going to explode.

"Oh, there's that temper of yours again. What _are_ you going to do?" Siren mocked. Her grin widened. "Me being pregnant really upsets you, doesn't it? I can taste your fury and your delicious heartbreak. And the best part is, you _can't_ hurt me, not without murdering an innocent life in the process." She moved forward and pressed her hand against my stomach. She muttered something and a black glow surrounded me. When she removed her hand, she gave me an evil grin.

"What did you just do?" I gasped out, feeling a strange emptiness within.

"I'm making sure _you_ never get to carry Tulio's spawn."

I felt like I was drowning as her words clicked. I didn't care about anything anymore. I wanted her to hurt. I wanted her to bleed; to suffer. I charged for Siren. She laughed, and tried disappearing in a puff of smoke, however I managed to get to her a split second before the smoke engulfed us both. My hands wrapped around her throat.

We fell over and landed on a street, the smoke around us vanishing.

" _I'LL KILL YOU!_ " I shrieked. Siren choked beneath me.

Her hands shone with electricity as she placed them on my chest. I screamed, momentarily blinded from the pain, and the next thing I knew she kicked me off of her. I landed in a heap beside the sword the Fright Knight had planted in the ground earlier. Pushing myself up, I stared at the sword. I didn't have Excalibur with me, having left it inside the Fenton's house, but this one was as good as any to murder that bitch. Standing up, I grasped the sword's handle.

"Aralyne, no!" Siren croaked out, real fear in her voice now. "The sword is a signal!"

I hesitated for a moment. "A signal? A signal of what?" I pulled the sword out of the ground.

The ground began shaking. The dome above our heads cracked. Pieces of it fell near people, who ran screaming. The dome crumbled away to reveal Nesidy had been transported it into the Ghost Zone! The Skeleton Armies, inert up till now, sprang to life and marched down the streets. The sword shook in my hands, and then flew out of them into the Fright Knight's. The Knight had brought an even more unwelcome visitor- Pariah Dark himself, in all his creepy glory.

"Of surrender!" Pariah Dark sneered at me.

Siren and I were frozen in place as we gazed up at him in horror. Taking advantage of this, Pariah fired red ectoplasm at us. We flew backwards and the last thing I remember was my head striking the ground.

* * *

Over at the jail, the villains felt the earthquake and braced themselves, expecting the building to collapse on top of them, burying them alive. Hans was curled up in a corner, his hands over his head and his eyes clamped shut. There was a loud _crack_ and the sounds of debris falling everywhere.

When the shaking stopped, Hans waited a few more seconds before lifting his head. He and the other villains looked about them in amazement. The jail had been destroyed! They were free if they took off now. There was maniacal laughter as several villains jumped to their feet and ran away from the previous prison.

Hans slowly climbed to his feet, a bit more aware of his surroundings than his cellmates. They were in Nesidy, yes, but where was Nesidy? It seemed to have been transported to some other world. What had been going on whilst he had been locked away? Was Siren behind this? He had to know. After making sure no one was paying him any mind, he snuck away from the jail, and stuck to the shadows of Nesidy.

* * *

Pariah Dark laughed as he grasped both girls by the arms and lifted them up. "Pathetic humans."

A public TV screen nearby beeped, gaining the ghosts' attention. On the screen flashed the words _Nesidyvision_. Then Jack and Maddie Fenton appeared on the screen, their expressions serious.

"Citizens of Nesidy! This is Jack and Maddie Fenton!" said Jack.

"Hi everybody!" Maddie exclaimed, smiling and waving for a moment before becoming serious once more.

Jack continued. "Malevolent spirits have pulled our entire town into a dimension known to us as the Ghost Zone."

Jazz's voice then came from somewhere behind Jack. "I'm launching the Ghost Zone probe now. I'm also increasing the Ghost Shield's radius to protect the city."

From where he and the Fright Knight stood, Pariah Dark could see a shield spreading across the town, pushing his followers back.

"The fact that we are currently in an alternate form of reality would be a lot cooler if it weren't for the fact that we are all in mortal danger," Jack added.

The ghost shield now covered most of the city, but stopped some distance away from Pariah Dark and the Fright Knight.

"The Ghost Shield's cranked to capacity, and our probe of the Ghost Zone is operational," Jazz declared.

The Skeleton Army couldn't break through the shield.

"For your own safety, please run under the Fenton Anti-Ghost Shield," said Maddie, "Where our daughter Jazz will be serving tea and cookies! And boys she's single!"

"Mom!" Jazz exclaimed.

"But more than anything, know this: this is not my fault! I repeat, this is not my fault!" Jack proclaimed.

Pariah fired ectoplasm at the screen, destroying it. He directed his attention back to the two girls. "Now what should I do with you?"

"Hey, Stoneface! Surprise!" a voice shouted.

Danny Phantom zoomed through the sky and shot green ectoplasm into Dark Pariah's eyes, blinding him. Dark Pariah dropped the girls, as he wiped the ectoplasm from his face. Danny scooped up both girls and tossed them over his shoulders.

Light glinted off the ring on Siren's finger, catching the attention of the Fright Knight.

"The Ring! Give that to the King NOW!" commanded the Knight.

"You'll have to catch us first!" Danny shouted before flying off with the girls. The Knight followed them, firing beams from his sword at Danny. Danny dodged every attack, and didn't even notice the ring had slipped off Siren's finger, vanishing on the street. When he reached the ghost shield, he turned human briefly for the three of them to pass through it then turned back into his Phantom form, flying the girls back to his home.

The Knight tried to follow them in, but crashed into the Shield. He then tried to hack at the shield, but to no avail.

"This... Is... Not... Over!" the Knight shouted.

Seconds later Pariah loomed over him.

"Actually, my loyal servant, it is!" laughed Pariah Dark. The Knight turned towards his master.

Pariah smiled evilly. As it turned out, he saw the Ring fall from Siren's finger and was able to retrieve it without any trouble. He slipped it onto his own digit. Having now acquired both items of power, the power rushed through him. There was a white flash and Pariah Dark had now reached full power.

The Fright Knight bowed at the sight of him.

"Come. We have plans to make," said Pariah Dark, stomping off through the town. The Fright Knight followed him. "For soon this world will also be mine!"


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter Forty-Eight

A lot of people were congregated outside of Fenton Works, looking on in fear. Jazz stepped out of her home, bringing a tray of cookies.

Danny flew past all of them and into his room where he dropped Aralyne into a chair and Siren on the bed. He would have had them switched if it weren't for the fact Siren was pregnant. Yes, they all hated her for various reasons, but they didn't have the heart to harm her child.

Aralyne groaned and moved her head back to rest against the wall.

* * *

I woke up to a sharp pain at the back of my skull and straightened up with a gasp, my eyes flying open. "Ooh, my head," I groaned, rubbing my aching noggin. I glanced around to see I was in a chair in Danny's room with Siren on his bed. Danny hovered nearby in Phantom form.

"You okay?" he inquired, turning back into Fenton.

"Fine," I grumbled, my head now starting to throb. I hoped I didn't have a concussion. Siren seemed okay, if a little banged up.

My gaze focused on her hand, noting something was missing. "The Ring!" I yelped. "It's gone!"

At that moment, the door opened and in entered, Catherine, Alyss, Sam, and Adam.

"Aralyne! You're okay!" Catherine said, jumping onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Whoa. What happened to her?" Sam asked, nodding towards my evil half.

"You name it," I said. "Fright Knight, Ghost King," _me_. "Everything I'm supposed to handle, but can't. Not by myself."

"Dude, you can't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault," said Alyss.

"Maybe not. But it is my responsibility." I scowled.

I shoved Catherine off me and onto the floor.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, flipping me the bird.

I stuck my tongue out at her and stood up. A wave of dizziness hit me, and I grabbed the nearest person to steady myself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Danny demanded, once I had regained my composure.

"Fine," I insisted. "Let's go." I left the room, my friends following me. We were just in time to see a handful of heroes go into the Fenton's basement. Curious, we went down into the basement as well.

Everyone surrounded Jack and Maddie, who stood by something big covered by a tarp.

"And while the Ecto-Skeleton can enhance your natural abilities one-hundred fold," explained Maddie, pulling the tarp to reveal said-machine, "Using it could be fatal."

"Which is exactly why I'll be using it. Because if the suit's going to be killing anyone, it's gonna be me," Jack declared.

Maddie slapped Jack to the ground, taking his place. "You're already weak from the first time you used the suit. I'll be going in."

Jazz slapped her mother out of the way. "Forget it, Mom. Danny needs both of you. I'm doing this."

Phoebus slapped Jazz out of the way. "I'll do it!"

Aladdin slapped him out of the way. "I'll do it!"

And so it continued: Jasmine, Rapunzel, Kassim, Mickey Mouse, Stitch. This was getting ridiculous.

"I thought I was going to have Danny blast everybody with a ghost ray, but this is much more efficient," I said.

"What? Aralyne, no, you can't!" Danny exclaimed.

"I'm responsible for saving everyone," I pointed out.

"Somebody oughta tell him that," Alyss said, pointing towards the Ecto-Skeleton.

I glanced over to see Tulio had somehow snuck in past me. Damn. I guess Catherine didn't kill him. Pity.

Bypassing the slapping crowd, I reached Tulio's side, glaring at him. "What are you doing here?!" I demanded. "This my fight!"

"No, it's not. Not anymore," he said, shaking his head.

At this point, Siren walked in, looking exhausted and rubbing her head. She froze as the scene sank in.

"What's going on in here?" she asked, looking between me and Tulio.

We ignored her.

"I _have_ to do this, Aralyne! I have to make it up to you, after…." His gaze shifted towards the villainess.

Scowling, I shoved him towards Siren, watching him stumble backwards. "As your Queen, I _order_ you to remain here! _I'm_ doing this!"

Siren finally understood what was happening. "Aralyne, if you go out there, we're dead, you hear me? DEAD!"

"I don't care," I growled out. "Danny, get me and the suit out of here." He hesitated. " _NOW!_ " He flinched and grabbed the suit and me. I hated yelling at him, but we didn't have the time to second-guess anything. We turned intangible and he flew us up onto the roof.

I removed the glass headshield, and jumped in. The hatch closed above me as I grabbed the controls.

"Activate neural receptors." The neural receptors came out and snapped onto my spine. A battery popped up on the computer screen before me. "Initiate powerup sequence."

I pulled back on the controls. The suit began charging. The battery's gauge rose from 88% to 90%. I pressed down on a gas pedal near my foot. Within time, I was fully connected with the Battlesuit. The battery continued to fill.

The door to the roof opened, and out stepped the sisters, Adam, Sam, Siren, and Tulio. None of them looked happy to see me battle-ready.

"Aralyne, please," Danny quietly begged.

"C'mon, guys. You didn't think it was always going to be as easy as shoving the Box Ghost into the Fenton Thermos, did you? I'll be back," I said, giving them an encouraging smile. My gaze flickered towards Siren's stomach for a brief second. The realization suddenly struck me that I was now responsible for a new life. A life that should have been entirely mine, but was Siren's instead.

"My mom used the word fatal," Danny said.

"Guys, I'll be back," I assured them.

A fierce wind blew. We all glanced up. The red clouds above us formed together to make Pariah's ugly face.

"Humans! Hear my decree!" Pariah declared, his voice booming across Nesidy.

"Well, that's my cue," I said. "Tulio… keep Siren safe."

"Be careful," he replied.

I worked the gears in the Ecto-Skeleton and flew off the roof, through the Ghost Shield, ready to kick some Pariah butt.

There were ten...no, twenty...no, fifty...one hundred...one thousand...five thousand, maybe, Skeletons blocking the way to the Keep. And they were armed and ready. The ones closest to the Keep were riding skeletal dragons.

"Maybe if I tried to pick these guys off one at a time," I muttered to myself, pointing towards the skeleton army. The suit mimicked my movements. The finger of the battlesuit opened up, pushing out a tiny blue ectoplasmic ball. It landed in front of some ghosts, then exploded, sending up a blast, getting rid of many Skeletons. They looked pissed now.

"Ha ha! One hundred fold, huh? THAT doesn't reek!"

Grinning, I formed a full-sized blast and fired it, making all the little skeletons fly up in the air. However, the effort weakened me considerably. My head started to throb some more. I glanced down at the battery. 98%.

"Whoa. Okay. Gotta be smart about how much of my energy I use at once," I said, shaking my head.

I refocused on the army before me. Some Skeletons were preparing to fire arrows at me. I put up a blue ghost shield to deflect the arrows.

"STILL NOT REEKING!"

I fired more blasts at the Skeletons. Finally, as I landed amongst them, a swarm tackled me to the ground. I wasn't worried about this as long as they didn't break through my glass shield. With some effort, I caused all the Skeletons on top of me to explode. A sharp pain shot through my head, making me black out for a second. Before the Skeletons could attack again, an ectoblast appeared, annihilating some of the enemy. I glanced up to see Danny Phantom had arrived holding the Fenton Thermos.

"Get out of here!" I shouted at him. "It's too dangerous for you to be here!"

He grinned down at me. "You didn't think I'd let you have all the fun, did you?" He opened up the thermos. "Special Delivery for Aralyne Chanson." Every ghost I knew, and a few I didn't came out of the thermos.

"How did you cram all of them into the Fenton Thermos?" I asked, gaping at the ghosts.

"Less talking, more FIGHTING!" Skulker shouted. Weapons protruded from every conceivable place on his body.

The Box Ghost popped up. "Beware! For my place of employment has given me a new weapon!" He held up a piece of bubble wrap. "The Bubble Wrap- OF DEATH!"

Klemper used his ice breath on some of the Skeletons, freezing them. The Box Ghost wrapped them in his Bubble Wrap, and Klemper pushed them off into the void.

"Now will you be my friend?" Klemper inquired of the Box Ghost.

"NEVER!" the latter shouted.

The Dragon Ghost, ridden by Poindexter, spewed flames at the skeletons. Ember took out a skeletal dragon with a power chord. She missed the next one, which was smashed by Skulker a second later. He turned around to face me.

"Now, go! Defeat Pariah! So I will be free to hunt your friend another day!" Skulker declared.

Danny rolled his eyes at me. "Guy really knows how to motivate ya," he said sarcastically, before fighting the skeletons.

I laughed then, flew into the Keep. I reached the doors to the throne room, and blasted them open. Standing right there was Pariah Dark, in all his creepy glory.

"A little ragged round the edges, eh, child?" he sneered at me.

"Whaddya say we ditch the snappy banter and get right to the part where I kick your butt!" I growled out at him.

"Very well, I accept your TERMS!" he yelled.

He flew towards me. I quickly created a shield to block him. As he hit the shield, I suddenly felt dizzy and nausea roiled within my stomach. Please don't let me get sick now! Especially since it'll be stuck with me inside this suit. My gaze flickered down to the battery on the screen and felt my heart drop. 40%. Shit! I fired ectoplasm at Pariah, knocking him into his throne. I felt exhausted, and wanted to just curl up and sleep.

Pariah stood up, noticing my weakness. "Having that much power, it's a burden, isn't it, child?" He threw his mace. I jumped to dodge it, but it just came back around like a boomerang. It slammed into my back, knocking to the ground before returning to its owner. Pariah stalked up to me and kicked my side. Thank goodness for the suit, or that would have really hurt. However, that didn't stop me from flying into the wall. I slowly climbed to my feet, gasping for air. It was suddenly hot inside the suit, and I could feel sweat making its way down my face.

"The power isn't the burden. The burden is in how I use it," I panted. "And I've been using it poorly lately." I now had 25% power. It was time to use what was left wisely. I hit Pariah with a beam of ectoplasm. Angered, Pariah swung his mace towards me. At the last second, I dodged and fired once more at his back, knocking him over. Slowly I walked up to him. "Now leave my town ALONE!" I shouted, punching Pariah.

Regaining his composure, Pariah fired a beam at me, but I jumped out of the way.

"Surrender, child! You can't possibly win!" he snarled.

"I don't have to win," I said, fighting back another wave of nausea. I fired a blast at the wall, revealing the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. "I just have to make sure that you lose!"

I flew to the Sarcophagus and held it open. A look of fear crossed Pariah's face. With a bit of ectoplasm, I knocked the Crown of Fire off his head, where it clattered to the floor.

"No! NO!" the villain shouted. He tried going after the crown, but I blocked his path. With what little strength I had left, I pushed Pariah into the Sarcophagus, and slammed it shut. A white light surround the Sarcophagus as it violently shook. I groaned, slumping to the floor, completely worn out. The battery quickly dropped. 10%...9%...8%... 7%...6%...5%...

I struggled to stay awake – to stay alive. Right as I was about to pass out, and Pariah was ready to break loose, unleashing hell on both worlds, a black-armoured hand turned the Skeleton Key in the lock, sealing Pariah back in.

"No! Nooo!" Pariah shouted one last time.

Startled, I glanced up to see the Fright Knight.

"I don't understand," I muttered.

"Tell your twin her plan didn't work. We lost the Ring," he simply said.

I completely lost consciousness….

* * *

Siren and the others anxiously stared up at the sky from on top of the Fenton's roof. As time passed, she felt increasingly tired. Aralyne was wasting away up there. The world outside of the Ghost Shield flickered for a moment to reveal a normal sky rather than the Ghost Zone. Were they winning? What was going on?

The world spun, and Siren felt herself tipping over.

"Siren!" Tulio exclaimed, catching her before she hit the floor. He sat down and cradled her in his arms. "Please tell me she's all right," he quietly urged.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. She felt so weak.

Up above, the sky returned and remained that way. The Fentons must have noticed from inside their house, because the Ghost Shield faded away. A cheer erupted from Nesidy, but it sounded so far away. At the very least, Dark Pariah had been defeated, but what of Aralyne? Was she dying?

For a second fear gripped Siren's heart, but then the world went dark….


End file.
